Citing health and personal issues, Heather Henley has resigned her seat on the Buckfield Select Board.

“I think it would best suit the town to get someone elected who can offer more time and energy,” Henley wrote in her resignation letter.

Henley was elected in 2023 when she won a three-person race for one of five seats on the board.

“We thank Heather for her service and appreciate everything she’s ever done,” Select Board Chairman Robert Hand said.

Due to her inactivity on the board for much of the year, Henley asked that the town withhold her paycheck for 2025, if possible. The town, however, does not have the authority to honor that request.

“If this select board member would like to refuse compensation that is owed to him and donate it to the municipality, he may do so,” Rebecca McMahon, Director of the Legal Affairs Division for the Maine Municipal Association, wrote in an opinion to the town. “If that happens, then the funds would be treated as a gift to the municipality. However, the individual’s refusal of compensation will not prevent it from being counted as income if he is legally entitled to the money. When the town’s legislative body establishes the pay for a municipal official or employee, the IRS will generally consider this as income for tax purposes and therefore the town must also treat it as income and comply with applicable withholding requirements.”

Town officials scheduled a special town meeting for Nov. 4, the same day as the statewide election, to fill the vacancy on the board. Town meetings in Buckfield are held by ballot at the polls and not with a traditional public meeting.

Nomination papers will be available soon at the Town Office.