York County Commissioners mull referendum to appoint treasurer, abolish elected position
- Tammy L Wells
- 9 hours ago
- 3 min read
ALFRED, Maine – York County Commissioners are poised to decide later this spring whether to ask voters in November if they wish to appoint a county treasurer, thus abolishing the elected position.
Proponents of the proposed referendum note that York County government has a finance director and staff who carry out the treasurer’s duties and more, and that the elected treasurer role in York County is purely ceremonial and has been for nearly 20 years.
Richard Clark, a York County Commissioner for nine years and a member of the county budget for six years before that, said he favors committee a referendum to create an appointed treasurer position.
“The elected treasurer does nothing,” said Clark. “We reduced the salary to $500 a year……We have professional financial management here. To continue this in my mind is pointless.”
Commissioner Justin Chenette said voters have previously made their wishes clear in a referendum on the question. That 2018 referendum saw 63,100 voters cast ballots in favor of keeping the elected part-time position, while 27,136 voters cast ballots to abolish it.
Chenette said he would be hesitant for the county to deviate from the will of the voters. “I have a feeling they’ll decide again to retain the position, so what has changed from that referendum to this referendum? I think we should abide by the wish of the voters. Just sending it out again does absolutely nothing.”
According to Maine Revised Statutes Title 30-A, the sole stated qualification for an elected county treasurer is that the individual be a resident of the county.
The same statute addresses the qualifications of an appointed treasurer: “The treasurer must be qualified in matters of business administration and finance.”
Duties of the treasurer – carried out in York County by the finance director and staff – include keeping the books, paying the bills, enforcing payment of taxes if need be, making an annual accounting of the books, and with the advice and consent of county commissioners, make investments, according to the statutes. The county’s finances are audited annually by a professional firm.
“The treasurer position is obsolete in today’s society,” said Commission Chair Richard Dutremble. “We really don’t need it.”
Dutremble reminded commissioners that a referendum campaign could see a proliferation of misinformation. He said the last time the matter went to a county wide referendum “people said they didn’t understand the question.”
The current York County Treasurer is Stacy Kilroy, who is not seeking re-election. She was appointed to the post by Gov. Janet Mills following the 2024 resignation of the prior treasurer, Bobby Mills. Mills was first elected in 2018 and was re-elected in 2022. He is running for the spot in the Democratic primary June 9.
York County Commissioners hired the county’s first finance director in 2007, after discovering a $1.2 million deficit in the fund balance that year. With hard work, it was cleared and the fund balance was rebuilt to healthy levels.
In 2015, York County Commissioners of the day, noting that the duties of the treasurer were being carried out by the finance director, voted to reduce salary for the elected part-time treasurer to $500 annually starting with the 2018 election.
Commissioner Donna Ring said she would like to study the matter further and proposed postponing the decision until May. Voting in favor were Commissioners Robert Andrews, Chenette and Ring, while Clark and Dutremble were opposed.
Today, three of Maine’s 16 counties – Androscoggin, Cumberland and Knox – have appointed treasurers. The rest remain elected, but voters in Washington County could see the question in an upcoming election.
