Bridgton residents press county for transparency as town approves county assessment

Article 13 — the warrant item to raise and appropriate the town's share of county fees and taxes — produced the meeting's most sustained debate. Mike Davis, a Bridgton resident who said he had written about the issue in the local paper, urged the town to demand a clearer breakdown from county officials before approving a steep year‑over‑year increase. "For the fourth year in a row now, the county is asking Bridgton for well over a million dollars...I'd like to see them here to break it down for us," Davis said.

Residents and board members questioned whether the county charge was optional and what services it covered. Select Board members and the moderator explained that the assessment pays for county services (including the county jail and dispatch) and that the county commissioners are responsible for the county budget; no county representative attended the meeting to answer questions in person. Moderator Marita noted the uncertainty of refusing the assessment: "If we vote no, I have no idea what will happen," she said.

Mike Davis moved to amend Article 13 to set the appropriation at last year's amount to press the county for justification; the amendment was seconded and discussed. Voters rejected the amendment by voice vote; the main motion for the county assessment as proposed (approximately $1,438,551 as read at the meeting) then passed by voice vote.

Several speakers urged a follow‑up: residents requested that town officials seek a county representative at a future meeting or bring forward a detailed breakdown of where the county funds are spent. Town staff and select board members said they would pursue additional detail through regional meetings and conversations with the county manager.

The substance of the debate was procedural and fiscal rather than personal: residents sought transparency and a clearer accounting of county expenditures, and the meeting recorded both the failed amendment and the ultimately approved appropriation.