Orange County Has Budget
But Questions Remain
By Cornelia Cesari

The final Orange County budget meeting Jan. 22 was relatively uneventful, thanks to the firm hand of moderator Euclid Farnham of Tunbridge.

"This meeting," he declared at the outset, "will be exclusively about the [2008-2009] budget."

The budget, finalized that afternoon and handed out at the door, reflected a decrease of $3,554 from last year, with total budgeted county expenditures of $289,719. The figure also represented a decrease of almost $44,000 from the original budget proposal of $333,553.

Opening the meeting, Side Judge Maurice "Moe" Brown welcomed the attendees and explained that he and Judge Prudence Pease had come to a compromise.

One major cut was simply stated by Brown: "We have decided that there will be no health insurance for the assistant judges. Period."

Health insurance benefits will be retained by county employees working 32 hours, but the facilities coordinator, Brian Sanborn’s hours were cut from 40 to 32, and Assistant Clerk Lisa Eastman’s hours will remain at 32, except for coverage during Court Clerk Emily Newman’s vacation and sick days.

The assistant judges also agreed to completely forego retirement benefits.

Retirement and health benefits for the assistant judges, as proposed in the original budget, had been the subject of a withering fire of criticism in two earlier budget hearings.

Another decreased line item for 2007-08 is training for assistant judges, budgeted at $3,000 instead of $6,000. State Rep. Phil Winters of Williamstown sought assurance that side judges’ training would apply to aspects of county business rather than working for the state in the courtroom. Pease said that the line item had only been used once, for traffic court training.

Judge Brown, when asked, admitted, "Personally I would have a problem with that because that’s not county business."

In answer to a question from Atty. Kelly Green of Randolph, Pease denied having any specific training in mind for next year. Green retorted that at the preliminary budget meeting in November, Pease had said the $6,000 budgeted at that time would allow the side judges to attend the Association of County Judges’ conference in Reno, Nevada.

Despite his initial warning, Moderator Farnham was unable to deflect persistent audience questions about past financial practices. State Rep. Sylvia Kennedy of Chelsea brought up a $2,500 payout last year for Judge Pease’s retirement, questioning whether Pease had invested hers into a retirement plan.

"I took it, as the Orange County Attorney Scott Cameron said it was appropriate to take it," Pease responded. It was properly accounted for, taxwise. It was invested."

Other expenditures questioned from last year's budget included between $600 and $700 which Pease said had been set aside for her health insurance but which, unspent, she is now requesting be paid to her to cover her dental insurance premiums.

Salary Adjustment

Allison Ericson of Tunbridge produced a copy of a December 2006 "salary adjustment" memo.

"At the end of that year, did you and Judge Hotchkiss take a budget surplus as an additional $370, each, in salary?" she asked.

"I’ve referred this to the state auditor of funds to determine what was appropriate and what was not," Pease answered. She said that even with the extra money, the two judges’ salaries fit within 1.5% of the total budget, which she said had been recommended by the Assistant Judges’ association.

Ericson and Sherri Richardson persisted, wanting assurance that the side judges wouldn’t arbitrarily adjust their salaries at the end of this budget year.

Judge Brown was adamant. "Our salaries will be what it’s stated. I won’t agree to adjust our salaries… I think I can stand on my record."

But Ericson wasn’t questioning Brown’s record. "Judge Pease, you adjusted your salary from $8,000 to $8370 just a month before the close of that budget. Do you think that is appropriate, just a month before the close of budget?"

Pease claimed that the year in question, the judges’ salaries had been set from the start on 1.5% of the budget, but that she and Judge Hotchkiss had decided to wait and see if there was money enough to take it all.

Ericson and others at the hearing, however, remained skeptical.