Passadumkeag has reopened its town office after hiring a new clerk last month following a two-month period during which the town effectively shut down when its former clerk resigned.
Christen Bouchard resigned April 7 after she said the board of selectmen refused her a two-week vacation because there would be nobody to take over in her temporary absence.
By the time she resigned, she was also the deputy treasurer and in charge of licensing pets and registering vehicles, maintaining vital records and liaising with the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife for the town of Passadumkeag, which is 30 miles north of Bangor.
Bouchard’s resignation effectively shuttered the 350-person town. For two months, the town office closed, as there was no one to perform duties like vehicle registration.
But now the town office is open 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays, after Kari-Jean Krug was hired as a part-time clerk in June.
“I’m going to do my best,” Krug said Tuesday. She also acts as the town tax collector and registrar of voters.
Treasurer Barbara Boyer took over tax collections and paid bills after Bouchard’s resignation. She referred questions about who was now handling vehicle registrations, assessing and other duties to the board of selectmen.
Selectmen Brad McKechnie, Jana Spencer and Alton Huston did not respond to questions about who was handling vehicle registrations, assessing, vital records or animal control.
Howland began handling vehicle registrations for Passadumkeag after Bouchard’s resignation, said Kelly Sirois, Howland’s water and sewer clerk.
Passadumkeag is now handling new vehicle registrations, and will begin re-registering existing vehicles at a later date, Krug said.
