March 28, 2024
BANGOR DAILY NEWS (BANGOR, MAINE

Residents sound off at hearings on budget

Maine’s $125 million budget shortfall was quickly erased in theory Saturday, when scores of residents throughout the state offered their views on trimming the targeted document.

The second of three hearings held around the state this weekend by the Legislature’s Appropriations Committee, Saturday’s forum in Bangor, witnessed a number of varied ideas on scaling back costs without raising taxes. Thoughts on “revenue enhancement,” as Sen. Michael Pearson, D-Enfield, called it, will be aired later this week.

In addition to Bangor, hearings were held in Presque Isle and Portland.

A number of residents in Bangor told the four legislators representing the committee that the state should begin its task by focusing on education. Ideas ran from straight cuts from the $835 million education budget to consolidating the University of Maine System.

“Fifty million dollars could easily be cut from education in the state of Maine,” said Charlotte Iserbyt of Lincolnville, a former U.S. Department of Education official. “I’d have no problem coming up with that right now.”

In a crowded council chambers at Bangor City Hall, James Horan, a University of Maine political science professor, suggested that UMS Chancellor Robert Woodbury also assume the duties of the presidency of the Orono campus. Or, he said, the chancellorship could be run by a troika of other UMS presidents, and other administrative positions could be run part-time and on a rotating basis by current faculty members.

“I believe that higher education should respond to the harsh realities of the situation in a creative and responsible manner,” said Horan, who also called for a system-wide building moratorium and restoration of the College of Arts and Sciences, which was split into three colleges under the tenure of former President Dale W. Lick.

“Let’s have three good campuses instead of eight very mediocre ones,” said another resident, who echoed the concerns of Robert Thomas of Perham, who during the Presque Isle hearing recommended the use of television conference systems to avoid travel expenses. Another Bangor speaker suggested the state cut the 40-50 consultants tied to the Department of Education.

At the Presque Isle hearing, Westfield First Selectman Calvin Hall, a state employee, recommended that the state temporarily “lessen the burden of reduced revenues by reconsidering the mandates.”

“In the meantime, we will do the best we can to tighten our own belts,” Hall said, although other town officials complained they were being financially choked by belts tightened during previous cuts.

“At the local level, we have done the belt-tightening that needs to be done,” Judy Roy, chairman of the Scarborough Town Council, told the Portland hearing on the budget. “You already have one pocket full of our money, and we don’t want you to have the other one.”

As some debated whether the state should privatize some programs, including the Maine State Lottery, a number of residents also urged the lawmakers to reverse some of the $700 million in sales-tax exemptions the state allowed each year. Officials from the Maine State Employees Union attended all three hearings, calling for the state to trim contracted services, which cost some $45 million in fiscal year 1991, and assign many of the tasks to state workers. Those contracted services that remained, they said, should be carefully scrutinized for efficiency.

“There is nothing specific in statute that mandates cost savings or efficiency in such contracts,” MSEA Vice President Daniel Glidden said in Presque Isle. Philip Cyr of Caribou suggested the state offer its employees monetary incentives for cost-saving ideas.

In Bangor, a few ideas were thrown directly at the committee itself.

Stephen Schley of Hampden suggested the state cut by half not only the Legislature’s budget, but the Legislature itself, which costs taxpayers some $15 million annually.

“There is no reason for a small state like ours to have one of the most expensive legislatures in the country,” Schley said. “At my house, if we don’t have the money to buy something, we don’t buy it. Government should operate the same way.”

At least two speakers fired salvos at the Department of Human Services.

Lanford Warner, a former social worker from Sherman Mills, painted the DHS workers, particularly those in the Houlton office, as overpaid and enjoying opulent offices. “Do you have any idea what these people are paid?” he asked.

An emotional Valerie Webster of Hampden said she was tired of state-subsidized phone and cable television services for low-income families. While shopping recently, Webster recalled, she saw a woman try to buy dog food with food stamps. After being told that was not allowed, the woman then bought hamburger for her dog using the stamps, Webster said.

“That’s disgusting that it’s come to that,” Webster said. “My nose is rubbed in it every time I turn around.”

“I could sit here and cut millions from that budget,” Webster continued. “You’re working for me, and I’m putting it in your hands to take care of it.”

As Barbara McKernan stood outside in the hallway, Ralph Coffman of Old Town suggested that her son, Gov. John R. McKernan, take a 10-50 percent pay cut. Fred Vardarmis of Bangor issued a similar call, saying state employees should take a step pay decrease based on their earnings.

“Maybe people ought to realize we’re all part of a community,” Coffman said. “We’re all in this together.”


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