AUGUSTA, Maine — Town officials traveled to Augusta Tuesday with the hopes of speaking in front of the state’s Appropriations Committee to save the Houlton branch of the Maine Revenue Service.
On Aug. 7, all 12 workers in the Houlton office, located on Water Street, were given lay-off notices, effective on Wednesday, Aug. 21.
“This (announcement) certainly came as a shock to all of us in the Aroostook County legislative delegation,” said Maine Rep. Joyce Fitzpatrick of Houlton. “When rumors of the possible closing of the Houlton office were floated around the halls in Augusta earlier this spring both Sen. Roger Sherman and I confronted those on the taxation committee and were assured that it was indeed discussed, but at that time nothing was going to happen.
“It seems that given the other unsuccessful tries to close this office, those in power at Maine Revenue Services chose to take the safe route and make the announcement without any notice to anyone, including the immediate supervisor of the Houlton Office, Rick Cummings, who was informed in Augusta at the exact same time the staff in Houlton were told,” Fitzpatrick continued.
Fitzpatrick added she was not sure how the local representative in Augusta could reverse the decision, but many were already “circling the wagons and pulled out all the previous weapons used in the past.”
She said she attended a meeting Friday with the affected employees, as well as the Maine State Employees Union, Sen. Sherman, Houlton Town Manager Gene Conlogue, Houlton’s Economic Director Lori Weston, and Jon McLaughlin, of the Southern Aroostook Development Corporation.
“I think the original intent of the meeting was to assist their union members in the shutdown; however, they seem to see that everyone is prepared to resist the closure and will be supporting us,” Fitzpatrick said.
During Monday night’s Houlton Town Council meeting, Town Manager Eugene Conlogue criticized the closure plans, calling it an “ambush.”
“We think the closure of this office is based on some very questionable assumptions,” Conlogue said. “They have been for the most part isolated from supervision directly from Augusta or visits from people in Augusta – it is really a sad situation.
“The whole thing sounds rather contrived and it’s too bad, because we know that some of the folks in Augusta have never had any love for this office up here … they treat it like an outpost,” he added. “They don’t come to look at it, they don’t come to visit. It’s an uphill battle, but we’ve fought worse battles than that in the past. I won’t predict success, but I will predict it will be a hard fought battle.”
Councilors agreed to draft a letter on behalf of town imploring the state to reconsider.
The Appropriations Committee met Tuesday in Augusta to discuss the bond bills, and Chairman Peggy Rotundo, who has been made aware of the attempt to close the office, was expected to bring up the closure during their meeting.
The notice of layoffs is not the first time that the state has tried to close the office. According to one of the employees, who spoke to the Houlton Pioneer Times on the condition of anonymity, stated the first time an effort was made to close the office was in 2007, due to budget cuts. Similar attempts were made in subsequent years.
Each time, though, employees were able to rally support for their jobs with the help of union representatives and state legislators, and the office was spared from the chopping block.
“This is only the second time we have been given lay-off notices,” the employee said. “It was completely unexpected. It had come up in the taxation committee in March, but Joyce (Fitzpatrick) and Roger (Sherman) had been assured that the office would be safe for at least two years.”
The mood at the Houlton office “has been all over the place,” the employee said.
“It has appeared that we have been targeted,” the employee said. “Some projects were taken away from us. We feel that we have been set up for this (closure) over time and that they are trying to do it outside of the legislative process because we have had a lot of support in the past.”
The Maine Revenue Office in Houlton primarily performs “desk audits.” The office houses two groups — an income tax group and a sales tax group. The income tax group assists the public with tax return forms. In the state income tax booklet, there is a number residents can call for help. That phone call would come to either the Houlton or Augusta office. The office also helps with those filing late returns or assisting those who have received a bill from the IRS.
State officials claim they can save upwards of $900,000 by closing the Houlton office. They also cited inadequate security at the Water Street office as a contributing factor.
Fitzpatrick disputes those claims, stating the Department would be hiring between five to seven employees in the Augusta area as a result of the closure. She also stated that no request was ever made for additional security measures for the office.
“We do have a security system here in Houlton,” added the employee. “We don’t have a security guard, but neither does the Portland office. DHHS is under same guidelines and they don’t have 24-hour security guards.”
Initially, the Houlton office was opened for staffing needs at a time when the Maine Revenue Service was using a number of temporary employees. Houlton was chosen as the location, beating out Millinocket, to spread the state positions around the state.
“The governor has decided, with no input and no explanation, to shut down a major office, both for state government, and for Houlton,” said Senate Majority Leader Troy Jackson of Allagash in a press release. “This isn’t the first time the state has tried to close this office. But every time they try, they see how productive and efficient it is. Closing the office will further isolate and disconnect rural Maine and Aroostook County from needed services. This seems to be nothing more than the governor continuing to target rural Maine.
“Rural Mainers work hard to make ends meet, and these are good-paying jobs in a region that is still struggling to provide good jobs. Now, without explanation, 12 people have lost their jobs and their livelihoods,” he added.
