MOUNT VERNON -- An investigation of the fee structure for services at the Central Maine Regional Communication Center may be in the works.

Rep. Pat Jones, D-Mount Vernon, told selectmen she would meet with Maine Department of Public Safety Commissioner Anne Jordan to express concerns about the cost of E-911 call handling and dispatch at the new state-run facility.

Jones said it is time to "open the books" to determine why the cost of providing service at the regional level is so much more than it was under county oversight.

Selectmen said Mount Vernon, though a small user of the system, is charged at the same rate as bigger towns.

Selectman Susan Herman suggested the state consider charging by usage in the individual towns.

Earlier this year, Mount Vernon opted out of the new regional center as its Public Safety Answering Point, or PSAP, contracting instead with the Somerset County Communications Center to answer its E-911.

Selectmen said the move will save more than $1,000 annually, but added the town is still required to pay a $4-per-resident fee to the Central Maine Regional Com-munication Center in Augusta for "rural dispatch," dispatching either Maine State Police or the Kennebec County Sheriff Office.

Fire and rescue are dispatched out of Winthrop, with no changes in cost this year.

The effect of these higher costs were apparent as selectmen met with members of the Mount Vernon Budget Committee to review the numbers for the 2008-09 budget, to be presented to voters at June's annual town meeting on June 7.

In addition to the increases for E-911 services, the town will be hit with a one-time double bond payment. The first payment on the new fire truck is due, along with the final payment on an old municipal bond.

Regarding raises requested for several town employees, Selectman Russell Libby suggested the budget be initially figured without raises to get a better idea of budget growth and its impact on property taxes.

Committee member Malcolm Hardy stated his opinion that no position raises should be considered for positions that have no working job description.

Selectmen noted several votes on the school budget will be held prior to town meeting.

The final Community School District 10 budget vote will be held during an open meeting at 7 p.m. May 12 at Maranacook Community High School.

If approved, a referendum vote, as dictated by the school consolidation legislation, would be held on Tuesday, May 20, from 3 to 8 p.m., at the Mount Vernon Community Center.

The elementary school budget will be up for vote at the annual town meeting on June 7 at 9 a.m.

Municipal elections will be held after the town meeting -- a change from previous years -- on Tuesday, June 10, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. also at the Community Center, in conjunction with a referendum vote on the elementary school budget as well as other state referendum items.

In other business, selectmen:

* Held a public hearing on junkyard permit renewals. All five applications were approved with no challenge.

* Met with members of the Community Partnership Corporation.

Member Sandra Wright inquired about a foreclosed parcel of land on Seavey Corner Road as a possible site for a senior citizen and affordable-housing project.

Selectmen noted that the 6-acre parcel is landlocked and it's exact location unclear, but agreed the group could visit the property to investigate the possibility of its use for their project.

The partnership, a nonprofit group dedicated to enhancing the quality of life in Mount Vernon, said the housing project is contingent upon the donation of an acceptable parcel.

* Accepted the resignation of Animal Control Officer Ken Bridgham and agreed to hire Pat Wheeler, Fayette's officer, to fill in.

* Met with transfer station manager Walter Perbeck, who told selectmen he thought traffic flow and recycling rates at the facility might be improved by the addition of a second set of recycling bins.

Perbeck also said a chipped pile of wood that was to have only contained unpainted and untreated scraps failed an environmental test.

He said the pile was to have been sold for reuse as clean chips but cannot because of high arsenic and formaldehyde levels.

Libby noted that treated wood is placed on the pile because people do not want to pay the tipping fees to place it in the Dumpster designated for construction debris.

The result will cost the entire town, he said.

Perbeck said he has a possible lead for disposal of the pile at no cost to the town.

* Heard from Jones about a newly formed garden group, meeting Mondays at 3:30 p.m. at the Community Center.

She said the group is starting a community garden on land made available for use by Will Brinton at the Wood's End Laboratory on Belgrade Road.

A total of four plots will be available to town residents.