MACHIAS — The Washington County Commission held a special meeting Friday to counter what Chairman David Burns called “damaging rumors” that the county was preparing to cut services and lay off employees because of another financial crunch.
Burns opened the 20‑minute meeting by saying he did not want to overreact but could not allow the rumors to grow unchecked.
“I thought it was bad last year, but this last week has been awful,” Burns said, referring to widespread claims that the county planned layoffs and the shutdown of essential services. Burns acknowledged that county officials have been concerned about cash flow for several weeks.
“In an effort to be responsible,” he said, “the commissioners asked each department to reexamine their budgets to determine where they could find savings for the next two to three months in case we could not” meet expenses.
During a series of meetings with department heads, commissioners instructed managers to limit spending to essential purchases, delay noncritical repairs and maintenance, identify invoices that could be postponed and curb unnecessary in‑state travel. Commissioners allowed out‑of‑state travel only when necessary.
Burns said managers were told to use every method available to reduce costs.
The first meeting with department heads was held with the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, Burns said. After that discussion, he said, “rumors began to spread that drastic measures were coming,” including layoffs, deferred paychecks and the shutdown of county services.
The rumors quickly reached municipal officials, police departments across Washington County and other county governments, he said, and “consequently, it became necessary to schedule this meeting on such short notice so our employees know what the facts are.”
“I hope we can dispel most of the damaging rumors today and get on with responsible government,” Burns said, visibly irritated.
He then asked Provisional Treasurer Grace Falzarano to provide a financial rundown of the county’s current situation.
Falzarano said the county received $4.1 million in February from the first portion of the 2026 tax anticipation note, or TAN, with Machias Savings Bank and had used $1.88 million as of Friday.
The county averages a little more than $1 million a month in spending, and with the cash on hand, including the remaining $2.14 million in the 2025 TAN, Falzarano said, “we estimated this would easily get us through June and July.”
Falzarano said she also expects to receive at least $640,670 from the unorganized territories shortly, which should cover two August payrolls and leave some funds for other expenses.
In April, the Legislature passed emergency legislation authorizing a special $640,671 payment to cover the unorganized territories’ share of Washington County’s 2025 debt. The payment, expected by June 30, is to come from the American Rescue Plan Act State Fiscal Recovery Fund.
Historically, Falzarano said, some towns begin paying their county assessment at the end of August and the start of September, which helps boost cash flow.
Commissioner Billy Howard said that even with the remaining TAN funds and the municipal tax payments expected later in the year, “We can’t buy anything extra. We can’t hire anyone extra. That’s just the time we’re in, but rumors seem to get going right quick with no direction from us.”
Commissioner Courtney Hammond said the county’s current financial situation is nothing like last year, when it faced an $8 million shortfall.
“This is a cash flow issue,” he said. “By the end of the year, we should be in very, very good shape.”
Howard warned against getting too comfortable with towns paying their tax bills on time.
“We pretty much robbed them of anything extra they had last year,” he said. “It wouldn’t look good on us to miss another year’s TAN payment. We were lucky to get a TAN after the commotion of last year.”
Howard said he still felt confident the county has “enough money here to last another month or two.”
“I don’t want to beat a dead horse to death,” Burns said, “but this business of rumors spreading as fast as they did this week causes great consternation and does great damage to us — that is, county government.”
The rumors of a second year of financial distress, he said, “stick in their mind that this county is near bankruptcy. We’re not. The sky is not falling.”
Layoffs would be an “absolute last resort,” Burns said, because the “county has a legal as well as moral obligation to provide certain services” to residents. He pledged the county will meet those obligations.
When it appeared Burns was preparing to close the meeting, Washington County Manager Renée Gray asked whether, given the financial rumors, it was appropriate for commissioners to hear an update on overdue audits. Commissioners agreed it was appropriate.
Falzarano said the 2023 preaudit has been completed and sent to Machias Savings Bank, with the full audit expected in July. The 2024 preaudit is nearly finished and is expected to be finalized in November. The deadline to submit that audit to Machias Savings Bank is Dec. 30. The 2025 preaudit is underway.
By this time next year, Howard said, “we should be totally up to date on the audits.”
None of the audit work, which has required enormous staff time and energy, has been without cost, Burns said, but by year‑end “we won’t be in the predicament that we’ve been in in the past.”
He apologized “to all of our employees who were put on edge,” to police departments and to municipal officials.
“I hope this will dispel the rumors and we can move on,” Burns said.
