WASHINGTON COUNTY, Maine — Municipalities across Washington County — and the county government itself — face an unprecedented financial crisis after voters rejected borrowing up to $11 million to pay off debt by year’s end.

There are few options to pay off the debt without raising taxes or cutting services, and regardless of what decisions are made, the debt is so large that Eastport City Manager Brian Schuth called the effort “rearranging chairs on the Titanic.”

There are also legal questions about whether municipalities can prepay their share of the county’s debt by year’s end to save on interest, and whether mandated services can legally be cut.

“We’ll have to see what we can legally do and what options are open to us,” Baileyville Town Manager Chris Loughlin said. “Because it’s k

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