While borrowing on the county level is common in most states, Maine mirrors the rest of New England in having passive county government. In 2002, the PCEDC joined the Piscataquis County Commissioners and assorted municipal leaders in breaking that tradition by asking the Maine Legislature to allow the County to issue bonds for economic development projects. No other Maine county has asked for, or received, such authorization.

The reason for bonding on the county level is simple: Individually, Piscataquis County's municipalities are relatively small. However, by pooling scarce resources through the County assessment, all residents can benefit from larger, higher impact economic development projects. The goal is to encourage private sector development throughout Piscataquis County.

The County's bond authority only extends to projects approved by a countywide referendum vote and cannot exceed the aggregate debt of 2% of the County's most recent taxable valuation (approximately $22 million). Additionally, in order for any referendum vote to be valid, the total number of votes cast for and against any bond question must be equal to 50% of the total number of votes cast in the County for all gubernatorial candidates in the most recent gubernatorial election.

In November, 2004, voters narrowly defeated a $952,000 bond question that would have provided funds for local projects and acted as local match for more substantial State and Federal funding. As can be seen in the following tabulations, the vote was very close:

NO 4,963 or 50.7%
YES 4,827 or 49.3%
Difference: 136 votes