AUBURN (AP) — A judge has ruled against a motion to dismiss a lawsuit alleging a Maine county’s commissioners improperly set their own salaries and benefits in violation of state and charter law.
A Superior Court judge ruled this month that the case will continue against the Androscoggin County Commission as a legislative body, not against individual commissioners.
More than 10 cities and towns represented by the county sued its seven commissioners, claiming that they unjustly enriched themselves by increasing their compensation and breaching their fiduciary duty to taxpayers regarding spending.
Commissioners had approved their own salaries and the county budget without input from the Androscoggin Budget Committee in 2014. The communities filed a lawsuit in July 2015.
The county’s attorney says he’s “pleased” the judge dismissed the claims against the individual commissioners.
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