AUGUSTA, Maine — Public meetings are scheduled for later this month to gather suggestions, comments and ideas about the coming merger of the state departments of agriculture and conservation.
Agriculture Commissioner Walt Whitcomb and Conservation Commissioner Bill Beardsley encourage Mainers to participate in the forums, which will be held at the University of Maine at Orono on June 22 and in Augusta on June 26.
Two additional meetings in northern and western Maine will be announced soon on the merger website at www.maine.gov/ACFMerger.org.
A newly enacted law creates a new Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry as of Aug. 30.
The new department will have 732 full-time and seasonal employees and have a budget of $96.5 million. It will be organized into seven divisions.
Making a mountain out of a molehill and I think they probably know what to do without my and others input.
It’s interesting, isin’t it, that these supposed meetings are being held AFTER the Consilidation Bill was passed. So what, Paulie wants the voter’s approval after the fact ? Show’s you where his head is at and where it’s headed.
This will be an astonishing waste of time and money. The only savings – net loss of one Commissioner’s salary – will be offset many times over by the cost of moving people around from one place to another; the cost in lost time and training time for people who have to learn new procedures and priorities under new regulations; and the cost in frustration of the public and the employees trying to guide them through regulations they are not familiar with. Nice move, legislature.