Washington County Commissioners have voted to accept pre-payments on next year's municipal taxes, to pay down the county's $8 million debt.
Commissioners took the action this week after voters rejected a bond referendum to pay off the debt, which accumulated after poor accounting practices drained the county's reserves.
County manager Renée Gray said it's still not clear what comes next.
"So we need to pay as much as we can of that debt so that we can get further negotiation or instruction, or we need to get further direction from the bank on what's going to be allowed," she said.
The county is asking towns to pay their share of the debt next month, in order to protect it's credit.
Gray said it's clear that not every town will be able to do that.
"Every town is different," she said. "Every situation is different. Some towns aren't going to be able to do this. They're so small. When you only have a handful of taxable property in a town, this is a big burden."
The county has always taken a loan to cover operational costs until municipal taxes are due in September. Gray said if the county can't pay off the current loan, it likely can't get a new one for 2026 operations, and it's not clear when the county will run out of cash.
Under Maine law, counties can't declare bankruptcy. And adding the entire $8 million amount to next year's budget would represent a 50% increase over last year.
Gray said some towns have begun holding public meetings to consider whether to make the early payments.
