A tiny Maine town has reopened with three new officials after tensions between residents and leadership forced a shutdown in mid-July.
Residents of The Forks Plantation elected Charles Hathaway as second assessor, his wife, Susan Hathaway, as clerk and Evan Anderson as treasurer during an annual meeting in late September. All three are members of Citizens for Integrity, Transparency and Accountability, a group that formed in the wake of concerns that caught the state auditor’s attention last summer.
Distrust grew between residents and the plantation’s three elected assessors since an independent auditor called out leaders in July 2022 for not following proper procedures and mishandling tax money in 2021. He stopped short of saying leaders were committing fraud but described several unusual practices.
The Forks Plantation’s reopening means assessors returned Oct. 10 to routine business, like issuing paychecks to employees and vendors, Charles Hathaway said. Residents can visit the municipal office for services like licensing their dog, but they must travel to the town of Moscow to register vehicles, he said.
It marks a major shift since mid-July, when residents voted down a spending article and shut the plantation down, then kept it shuttered for weeks as they demanded an election. The municipality could not handle expenses and offer basic services during this time.
It remains to be seen how newcomers will work with incumbent First Assessor Sandra Thompson and Third Assessor Chris Hewke to reconcile the plantation’s finances. Perhaps the biggest question still looming is the status of the 2022 audit, which assessors hired RHR Smith & Company to complete but remains unresolved.
“These last 14 months have been extraordinarily acrimonious,” Hathaway said. “Trying to get people who are not experienced politicians to come together to solve the town’s problems is probably one of the biggest challenges I have faced in my life.”
It will take some time for tensions to settle in the Somerset County community with 48 residents, but Hathaway believes real change is possible, he said.
Hathaway replaces Judith Hutchinson as the second assessor, while his wife replaces Barbara Norman. The terms of both women expired June 30, but they continued to serve in their positions. They resigned in August, though Hutchinson will continue working as the tax collector.
Anderson has worked in finance since the mid-1990s, including for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, he said during the Sept. 28 meeting. He looks forward to helping the plantation get back on track, he said.
Though not all residents agreed with the actions of the community group, its goal was to break up the regime that was operating without accountability and to get people engaged at meetings, Hathaway said.
“Both of those have been accomplished,” he said. “Now the hard work begins. We work for everyone, even those who didn’t vote for us.”