Waldo County Is Working Through Its Problems in Public

County races, reserve-account reforms, a new FOAA portal, and signs of financial course correction from a local government increasingly discussing its problems in public.

Searsmont Robbins Lumber Explosion

I’m hyperlocal, and I sometimes get information on local incidents faster than anyone else. When I started getting reports on the Searsmont incident, it was clear this was a bad situation, and I put out a brief report based on scanner traffic.

For a few minutes, I thought I might continue covering it. But once other publications and news outlets picked it up, it was clear the incident would be well covered. I grew up in a law-enforcement family, and I have great respect for people who work in emergency services. Local media may be hollowed out, but the old press adage, “if it bleeds, it leads,” is unfortunately still true.

I don’t aim to duplicate coverage that is already out there. I also did not want to burden public safety officials, even if they routinely interact with the press, with one more person asking questions in the middle of a tragedy.

We may cover some of the underlying issues that stem from what happened. But in light of at least one death, and an absolutely tragic situation for first responders, right now the community should focus on supporting those affected.

FOAA Portal

The county says it experienced an uptick in FOAA requests last year. In a little over a year, the county saw three new commissioners and a financial crisis. That brought heightened attention to its operations, which led many community members to ask questions and request documents.

This publication requested two or three documents, and the county was fairly prompt and professional in meeting its FOAA obligations.

The portal appears to be the county’s attempt, in the absence of centralized administration, to make records requests smoother. It is good to see one local body treat its public-access obligations as a system to be improved rather than a burden to be managed.

The county rightly recognized that in a year of heightened attention to county operations — covered by this publication, the Bangor Daily News, and the Maine Monitor — improving its digital services can also improve public access and transparency.

The portal can be found here:

https://waldocountyme.nextrequest.com/

Where’s The Interest? County Races.

After all the attention brought to county governance this year, one would think it would have led to greater interest in elected county positions, but the Monitor reports that this is not the case, with very few contested elections.

The county primaries will be held on the same date as the RSU 71 school budget referendum, June 9. Waldo has one contested race at the primary level.

The commissioner seat vacated when longtime Commissioner Betty Johnson passed away in early January was filled by appointment by the governor. Breanna Pinkham Bebb, who had been serving as a budget committee member and Northport selectperson, is the only Democrat on the primary ballot.

On the Republican side, Alphonzo Wagner III of Waldo is the only one who made the ballot. Based on federal trucking records, Wagner appears to be a small business owner operating a farm and trucking business in Waldo with one commercial truck and one driver. Federal filings associated with the operation reported about 2,000 miles of travel in 2022.

District Attorney is the only contested Waldo County race on the primary ballot. The District Attorney for Prosecutorial District 6 is the region’s chief prosecutor, serving Sagadahoc, Lincoln, Knox, and Waldo counties. The office works closely with county sheriff’s offices and local police agencies and is responsible for prosecuting most criminal cases brought by the state, determining whether charges should be filed, negotiating plea agreements, and representing the state in court proceedings. Murder prosecutions are generally handled separately by the Maine Attorney General’s Office.

Democrat Barbara Cray of Westport Island is challenging incumbent Democrat Natasha Irving of Rockland. There are no Republicans in that race.

Register of Deeds Stacy Grant and Sheriff Jason Trundy, both Democratic incumbents, are running unopposed in the primary and face no Republican opposition in November.

Unenrolled candidates still have a chance to get on the fall ballot, with signatures due June 1.

Waldo County’s Treasurer office has seen tumult in the recent past.

Back in 2018, in what can now be seen as a harbinger of poor financial practices just beginning to surface, the county dropped the annual pay for this elected position from $10,000 to $2,500. That barely covers gas for someone coming to meetings from outlying parts of the county. At the time, the county tried to defend the move by calling the Treasurer’s position a “figurehead,” but many suspected it was retaliatory because the wrong candidate, in the commissioners’ eyes, had won the election.

The financial oversight optics of calling the position a “figurehead” were not good. Here was a county official, in effect, saying the county had allowed an elected financial oversight role to wither, had no serious plan to improve it, and would respond instead by cutting the pay to a level that looked retaliatory.

Fast forward to 2026. It appears the county did not make much of an attempt to clarify and improve the Treasurer’s role. Many people who watched the county’s budget proceedings, myself included, were genuinely confused by the existence of the position, asking: what does the Treasurer actually do? Because it appeared to be very little.

This publication’s position is that neglect of traditional financial oversight roles is a major failure in both county and Belfast government. Belfast, in particular, has effectively erased the oversight function of its charter-mandated Treasurer role by appointing the City Manager “temporarily” as interim Treasurer for nine months despite her lack of financial background or experience.

Waldo County should make it a priority to define the role, lay out the desired qualifications, and restore the pay to something closer to its previous level, with inflation added back in. The position does not necessarily require a CPA or auditor, but it should attract candidates with some experience in bookkeeping, budgeting, or financial records.

There are no declared candidates for Treasurer in either party.

Signs of Financial Course Correction.

Waldo County’s April 2 commissioners meeting also showed signs of a government trying to take its financial responsibilities more seriously. Commissioners reviewed a proposal to consolidate 11 reserve checking accounts into four clearer categories: County Facilities, Severance, County Technology, and County Disaster Response. The changes were submitted to the State Auditor, who confirmed receipt and approved the consolidation.

Rather than assuming it knew best, the county checked its reserve-account changes with the state before acting. Commissioners also discussed target balances for the new accounts, and Finance Director Kelsey Hunt confirmed the state had reviewed the structure and that it met state statute. Commissioner Breanna Pinkham Bebb recommended creating an ad-hoc committee for reserve-account planning, and Commissioner Tim Parker agreed that 2025–2026 should be treated as a new starting point, with reserves not used simply to offset the budget.

Waldo County is addressing its financial problems in public, making a visible effort to get things right, and explaining the work as it goes. Belfast’s city administration and council struggle with communication and open government. We can at least hope someone there is watching, because Belfast should be taking notes.

April 2 Meeting

Other April 2 updates showed the same pattern: county officials naming problems in public instead of pretending they do not exist.

Commissioners ratified an inmate boarding contract with Somerset County, while noting the actual length of the agreement and its annual cost escalators, including increases tied to opioid-treatment supply costs and boarding. During budget comments, Commissioner Breanna Pinkham Bebb raised concerns about the county’s self-insured health plan. Commissioner Kevin Kelley said the county was reviewing options with its broker and had told all four unions plainly that the current plan design was not affordable.

The commissioners also discussed whether Waldo County needs a county administrator. Pinkham Bebb suggested a workshop, saying the county could be run more effectively. Commissioner Timothy Parker acknowledged both a need and a want, while also noting the limits on commissioners’ time. Kelley said the question had to be part of a broader discussion about financial responsibility, reserves, and the county’s ability to fund severance, IT, and other long-term obligations.

One final note: this update is behind because the records were behind. The commissioners also met on April 16 and May 7, but there had been a gap in records production while the county transitioned to its new system. Those meetings are too lengthy to cover here, but we’ll be catching up soon. Stay tuned.