Freeport Community Services has terminated its contract with the Town of Freeport to administer a state-mandated General Assistance Program, forcing the town to rethink how it will take on the costs just weeks ahead of the municipal budget vote.
Citing increased applications and a lack of capacity, the FCS board voted May 20 to back out of the General Assistance Program, a statewide initiative to help Mainers meet basic needs. A spokesperson for FCS, which has been involved in the program since August 2021, said the town received a May 27 termination letter detailing a 90-day notice, as contractually required, though it said the date was flexible based on transition needs.
“The needs that were presented generally could not be met with general assistance,” FCS Executive Director Sarah Lundin said, adding that the decision was disappointing for the board as well. “It was pushing our capacity to the point that it was unsustainable.”
Applications for the program, she said, jumped from one or two applications a month to eight to 10, with FCS workers sometimes spending over 50 hours a week on a case. The spike got as high as 40 applications one month, she said, indicating a troubling trend of heightened need across the state as the housing crisis persists.
Lundin said that FCS doesn’t want to disrupt assistance to the community and, for now, is functioning as usual.
“There’s no urgency necessarily on our part,” she said, adding that she looks forward to discussing reactions to the decision with Town Council on June 18.
Town councilors expressed frustration at Tuesday night’s public meeting, as the last-minute change — in addition to other funding requests — contributed to an 8-cent increase on the tax millage rate. Instead of an 85-cent tax increase per thousand dollars of property value, the budget now proposes a 92-cent increase, Finance Director Jessica Maloy said at the meeting.
The General Assistance Program provided $24,000 — or $2,000 a month — in funding to FCS to provide aid to the community. With no third party in place to take over administration of the program, councilors brainstormed how to fill the void, something that will require additional funds and increase the town’s proposed budget.
“We don’t have a choice — we’re required by law to have [the program],” At-large Councilor Darrel Fournier said. “So I was very disappointed with the decision at the community center, but that’s [the decision that was made].”
Fournier also suggested pulling a $21,000 donation unrelated to the General Assistance Program from FCS to cushion the impact the last-minute change would have on the budget.
Other councilors suggested ending a $57,000 annual lease the town has with FCS for basement storage and some meeting room access. Town Manager Sophia Wilson Claire said the lease, which lasts 50 years, was only signed in 2011. It does not, she said, allow the town to renew or break the contract.
Other councilors, including Matthew Pillsbury, pushed back against making quick funding decisions he said could negatively impact the community.
“I don’t want us to make a rash decision, because, again, this is taxpayer money and its hard-earned, but it also goes to support people in our community that need it — it’s a social safety net for our community,” Pillsbury said. “I’m not comfortable taking that away because I’m feeling frustrated or upset that FCS made this decision.”
The debate ended with a motion from Fournier to eliminate from the budget a $21,000 donation to the center, which received a split vote. Councilors Joanna Benoit, Eric C. Smith and Pillsbury all voted against the cut, citing that they needed more information before they made a decision.
The council is set to vote on its budget on June 18 — a 6 p.m. public meeting at which FCS will be present. Council Chairperson John Egan said that decisions on how to proceed financially must be made before then.
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