The difficulty in finding people to serve in municipal positions has been brought to the forefront in Dennysville, where there is currently only one selectperson, after two suddenly resigned last month. In other area towns, only one person, if any, may run for an open position in town government, and municipal boards often have to work hard at filling all of their seats.
      Dennysville First Selectperson Dawn Noonan resigned at a September 19 selectmen's meeting, and two days later Violet Willis, the third selectperson, resigned, citing personal reasons. Noonan also cites personal reasons.
      "Legally, we've ground to a halt with what we can do," says Scott Corey, the remaining selectman. Since two signatures are required for signing checks, the town is unable to pay any bills at present. The town has now scheduled a special town meeting for Monday, October 16, at 7 p.m. at the town office to elect two new selectpersons.
      Noonan had been on the select board for over five years and comments that finding people to serve "is very difficult. People don't want to step up and help." And Willis notes that those serving in town positions today have to be up on current rules and regulations and be technically savvy. "These positions do require some knowledge of local laws and state laws," she says. "It's important to elect people who know what's involved."
      Corey points out that the issue of finding people to serve on municipal boards can be difficult in a town with an aging population and only 300 residents. "The pool is small, a lot have done their stint, and there are not many full-time residents moving in."
      While local residents have always filled the positions of town clerk, tax collector and treasurer, Dennysville now has had to hire people from other towns to serve, with the current tax collector and treasurer being from Machiasport and the town clerk from Eastport. Corey notes that, earlier this year, Dennysville was without a tax collector for a month and had three within a year.
      While other town positions, such as on the planning and school boards, are filled, Corey observes that "sometimes you have to cajole" someone to step forward. Also, the town provides monetary stipends to fill positions. "We had to start paying to provide an incentive, like for the school board." The town also has struggled with finding enough people to staff the Dennysville Volunteer Ambulance Service, which was in desperate need of EMTs earlier this year in order to continue providing service. "The pool of available people is not that big," Corey notes.
      As for the current situation with the select board, "It's a combination of factors, and this is where we are," Corey says. "Personalities can always clash, and when they do, you have a problem. If you can't move past that, you can't get anything done, if you let that play into it."
     

Residents help in time of need
      Rickey Jamieson, who serves on the town's cemetery committee and planning board, says, "Ninety percent of our problem is that people that are doing 90% of the work for the town are getting old and aging out. It's an age thing." He doesn't believe that there is less civic engagement today, noting, "Everybody is aged out that has the freedom of time." Younger people, he points out, may not have the time to serve on boards, as they may have families, be working two jobs or doing shift work.
      He observes that most of the members of the cemetery committee are also on the planning board. "I've been doing it for years, because no one wants to do it."
      "There's not just one thing. We're just in a perfect storm," with fewer residents, an aging population and municipal government training requirements, Jamieson says. He notes that the state now requires training for municipal positions, but the town can only afford a limited amount for pay. When his wife Donna served as town clerk, he says she ended up making about $3 an hour. But he believes that small towns have now reached the point where they need at least a half-time town clerk, in part to staff the town office. Dennysville's clerk just works one day a week.
      Bill Attick, who served nine years as first selectman and is now on the school board, a library trustee and involved with the historical society, recalls that he learned much of what he needed to know from Jimmy Sullivan, whom he replaced and who had served 37 years as first selectman. "There are a lot things to learn," he notes, adding, "It is an investment of time, very much so." He comments, "It's not an easy job. You're responsible for everything."
      He recalls that one time while he was selectman his son had called to speak with him and was told that his father was out clearing the roads after a storm. "We had to cut trees to clear the roads. That's what you did. You're responsible for it."
      Attick notes that other towns in Maine also are having trouble finding people to serve in municipal positions. But he observes, "In Dennysville, I think people do step up when they see a need and help out." Putting out a call to fill a position will lead to a response, he believes. "The best volunteer is the one you ask," he says.
      Finding enough funding for maintaining the town's roads and enough people to serve in municipal positions were among the reasons that the town considered deorganizing earlier this year. But at a meeting in May, residents voted not to continue with the process. Corey notes that choosing to follow the deorganization path "would have been a lot easier," but since the town voted not to, "we have to proceed forward."
      Jamieson believes residents decided not to pursue deorganization after they found out that the town was not considered by the state to be a good candidate, as the roads would have to be repaired first before it could deorganize, and the town has both debt and property. "We're caught in a death spiral," he comments. But then he says, "We'll get through this, just like we've gotten through everything else for the past 200 years." Corey agrees, saying, "We'll work through this, and hopefully it will be a well attended meeting and there will not be any acrimony."
      And Attick comments, "I'd sure some good people will step up and be elected and carry on. I think the people in Dennysville come forth and help support the town. There are a lot of good people in town. People will step up and help the town."