Freeport town officials took over the General Assistance program on Tuesday, months after Freeport Community Services backed out of hosting the state-mandated program.
Town Manager Sophia Wilson revealed at the Town Council meeting on Sept. 3 that the town had already received two General Assistance applications before noon Tuesday in its takeover of the program.
“The effort in the last couple of weeks has been spent around bringing General Assistance in-house,” Wilson said. “… And [we] absolutely could not do it if it weren’t for the incredible staff in the clerk’s office.”
Wilson said that a law passed by the state last year requiring towns to take General Assistance applications at anytime during Town Hall hours complicated some planning for an official role to implement.
However, she said that the town is getting ready to intertwine the responsibility with a community paramedic role. While The Times Record has followed up for more details on what this means, Wilson said at the meeting that more information on a formal structure for the program would be announced mid-September.
The move comes after Freeport Community Services, a nonprofit that helps Freeporters meet basic needs, backed out of hosting the program just weeks ahead of the municipal budget vote in June. The organization gave a 90-day notice, effectively ending the contract in August.
FCS Executive Director Sarah Lundin said at the time that the decision to terminate the contract was difficult but necessary, as the needs requested were beyond the organization’s capacity. Lundin said that FCS workers were spending 50 hours a week on a single case, with an average of 10 cases coming in each month.
The town’s General Assistance program funded the FCS with $24,000 — or $2,000 a month — to implement a program. Councilors expressed concern in June that FCS’ decision to terminate the contract late in the spring would cost the town more tax dollars in the middle of finalizing a budget.
FCS did not immediately respond to requests for comment Wednesday.
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