FARMINGTON — Franklin County commissioners authorized the county administrator Thursday to submit a proposed preliminary spending plan for 2025-26 of nearly $3 million unorganized territory budget to the state.

Commissioners will set a public hearing in November for the proposed nearly $3 million package, which reflects an increase of $989,301.

The proposal includes $750,000 set aside for bridges. There are currently two bridges that need to be replaced for a combined total of about $2 million, county Administrator Amy Bernard said.

It also includes money for two deputies, including one additional deputy for the unorganized territory.

The county was awarded a $250,000 grant in 2023 from the U.S. Department of Justice’s Community Oriented Policing Services Hiring Program for two deputy positions. One of the new deputy positions is proposed in the 2025-26 unorganized territory budget, Bernard said. The other position is in the regular county budget, she said.

The amount the grant pays decreases over three years, and by the fourth year of the grant, the county will pay for the positions initially funded in the grant, according to information provided by Sgt. Ryan Close.

There is an existing deputy position in the unorganized territory budget that was created in the 2020-21 unorganized territory budget.

The initial need for more deputies, especially working in the unorganized territory, occurred several years ago when Maine State Police stopped call-sharing with the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office and several other counties in the state.