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Casco's Fuel Fund Frozen

February 20, 2010 - CASCO -- The town has frozen a charity fuel assistance account and moved to hire a program auditor after organizers raised questions about how much money is in it and how much has been raised.

Casco Helping Casco board members Jeannine Oren and Jenn Murray take issue with a balance provided by the town, $12,826 in mid-January. The two insist they don't have the paperwork to show who's donated what and how it's been handed out.
"If they can't show us an exact number, there's a snake in the wood pile," Oren said.

David Morton, town manager in Casco for more than 30 years, said the town's been accountable with the money. Three weeks ago selectmen agreed to freeze the account at "no money in, no money out" and a week ago agreed to hire an auditor to look over that program's books.

"We've shown them every expenditure, every receipt," Morton said. "They seem bent on some kind of a public smearing campaign."

Casco Helping Casco launched in October 2008 after a local meeting with Morton that Murray said served as a rallying point: Fuel prices were reaching $4 a gallon; local people risked going cold.

"Within days it was boots on the ground," she said.

Money was raised through jars around town, a raffle, a grant, and donations from individuals and the local fire association, Oren said.

Morton said funds have gone into Casco's checking account, where two people in the office have the ability to approve spending it and selectmen had to sign off.

Oren said they have concerns about the protocol for applications, whether other resources for help were applied for first, and whether heating funds paid for General Assistance. The two have requested copies of hundreds of town documents. She and Murray asked for the independent reconstruction of the account after seeking advice from the Attorney General's Office, Oren said.

Several Casco Helping Casco board members, including its president, quit in January, she said.

Morton said he has been talking with firms about the audit and hopes to have that done as soon as possible.

"I think the fund is a good idea and clearly the group has been going through some dynamic changes," he said. "Going back further, in hindsight, we should have set up some distinct parameters (by which) the group had to organize and take care of it themselves."

Casco Helping Casco has not registered as a nonprofit.

by Kathryn Skelton, Sun Journal, February 20, 2010

Lakes: Pleasant Lake
Regions: Sebago


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