MACHIAS — The Washington County Commission hired Bangor attorney Jonathan Pottle on Wednesday to help reorganize county government and sort out growing disagreements.
Chairman David Burns opened Wednesday’s special meeting, which was called specifically to introduce and engage Pottle, by saying “It’s become very evident to me, and I think to folks both inside and outside of the county government, that we need to reorganize a little bit and make sure that everybody understands what their responsibilities and rights are.”
Burns also said there would be no discussion on the lawsuit filed by County Manager Renée Gray against the county and Commissioners Burns and Billy Howard, but alluded that the suit and the ongoing 2027 budget approval process are both part of growing disagreements.
Commissioner Courtney Hammond, who has publicly supported Gray, was not named in the suit. He was also not at Wednesday’s meeting because of a prior commitment.
In order to calm disagreements, Burns said, “I believe we need legal counsel to guide us through how the structure operates, and make sure that we’re in accordance with Maine law as well as county policies.”
Last week the commission conducted its final review of department head requests before it is scheduled to turn the budget over to the Budget Advisory Committee on Sept. 10. Burns said “that budget must be done and presented in an orderly and accurate fashion,” which he is concerned will not happen without outside intervention.
Burns met with Pottle several weeks ago after he was served with Gray’s lawsuit, and before the Maine County Commissioners risk pool retained counsel to represent Burns and Howard as individuals, as well as in their capacity as county officials.
On Monday, Burns said he reached out to Pottle again “because it has become very evident to me that there’s a lot of dissension going on within our county government right now, a lot of disagreement as to what our responsibilities are, and those have to be worked out.”
Burns said he was not willing to continue the status quo. “It’s not something that we can pass by,” referring to the growing tension. “It has to be worked out for the benefit of county government and the people that we serve.”
Pottle is a partner at Katahdin Law who specializes in environmental, land use, municipal, utilities and natural resources law, and has advised government employees and officials working in tense environments. He explained that his role has nothing to do with the lawsuit, but that he will work with county employees in what he called a “parallel fashion” so county business doesn’t stop because of conflicts raised in the suit or in the aftermath of its filing.
“Clearly,” Pottle said, “you know this presents some logistical and other waters that you just have to navigate,” but in his experience having legal counsel available to help facilitate conflicts is helpful.
Gray, who was terminated on July 9, filed a wrongful termination suit days later. She returned to work last Friday after the commission rescinded her termination. She had been out on paid leave since her firing.
Burns has made it clear Gray’s return is not something the commission necessarily agrees with, but was done on advice of counsel based on a temporary restraining order issued by the Washington County Superior Court where Gray’s case was filed.
That case has since been moved to federal court at the county’s request, but the parties have agreed to honor the order after the superior court found commissioners interfered with Gray’s rights by not giving her a written explanation of why she was fired, which is required by state law, or giving her an opportunity for a public hearing.
In Gray’s absence, Finance Director Jenny Windsor — who started work on June 1 — and other members of the Finance Department took the lead on collating department head requests into a budget that was presented first to commissioners and is expected to be turned over to the Budget Advisory Committee next week. Last week, commissioners reviewed final department requests, which represent a 40 percent increase in spending year over year, or about $1.8 million.
Pottle said that some guidance and advice for staff about rules and responsibilities can provide helpful guardrails and improve working relationships.
He also said he wouldn’t force anyone to work with him, and acknowledged that the pending suit can’t be ignored, but the business of running county government has to continue and his work will be to produce what he hopes will be the most productive and constructive way forward.
“This really is reflective of working with folks, you know, with positive communication, and trying to facilitate that,” he said.
Pottle plans to be in the county building on a regular basis and said “We’ll just tackle the issues and, you know, one by one as they come, and try to move forward in a constructive way.
Burns asked if anyone in the audience had questions for Pottle.
Ben Edwards, who is vice chairman of the county’s Budget Advisory Committee, said he’d written a letter Monday addressed to the commission about the tension among staff, and had recommended hiring independent counsel “as a critical first step toward a workable budget season.”
He also said hiring Pottle means the county is spending funds it hadn’t budgeted, but that he felt the expenditure was necessary to change the working environment.
Brian Schuth, who is also a member of the Budget Advisory Committee and the city manager in Eastport, agreed.
Rep. Will Tuell, R-East Machias, also appeared to agree with hiring counsel, but asked how the county planned to pay Pottle’s fees.
Pottle said it was difficult to determine what the cost might be at this point, but that he was very conscious the county was working with a strained budget and he would be fair. “I will not abandon you,” he said.
Burns said that “at least 10 of our towns have paid the ask that we had last year for the 2025, for the TAN (tax anticipation note) that we had to pay back,” giving the county some unrestricted funds it can now draw from. Burns said there are also potential budget lines to tap and there may be more as Pottle works through reorganization.
Last fall, after years of poor financial management and improper bookkeeping that depleted the county’s surplus accounts, the county asked voters to borrow up to $11 million to pay what was expected to be $8 million in TAN debt by Dec. 31.
Voters rejected the idea, and the county asked towns to prepay a portion of the debt to avoid excessive interest charges, which a majority of towns accepted. Even so, the county entered 2026 in debt and with less than three months of operating cash on hand, a situation that has contributed to the rising tension.
Commissioners have also recently put pressure on the administrators at the Washington County Jail and the Sheriff’s Office to reduce overtime costs, which are exceeding the budget.
