WILTON — Friends of Wilson Lake has contracted with ADP, a payroll processing business, to serve those participating in the Courtesy Boat Inspection Program, President Sandra Muller told selectpersons Tuesday night.

The decision was in response to a letter dated June 7 from Town Manager Maria Greeley stating the town could no longer provide payroll services for those employees.

The courtesy boat checks are done to try and prevent invasive plants and organisms from entering the Wilson Pond.

Town Office staff have provided payroll services since 2004, Muller said. The agreement was entered in with the Friends of Wilson Lake and former Town Manager Peter Nielsen.

According to the letter, Greeley wrote that “these employees are not employees of the Town of Wilton as the town has no involvement in their hiring, nor control over their work or compensation, and the employees do not perform any work on behalf of the town.”

“Historically, as I understand it, the town has simply received payroll information from your organization and used our payroll system to process payment based on that information,” the letter continued. “Unfortunately, this practice gives rise to a number of concerns related to the employment relationship, payroll tax responsibility, potential wages claims, and coverage for purposes of unemployment and workers compensation insurance. As a result of these concerns, the Select Board has directed me to notify you that the Town can no longer provide this payroll service to your organization effective hours through June 28th. The last payroll will be paid July 5th.”

Friends of Wilson Lake has protected the quality of Wilson Pond since 1989. It provides funds for the payroll and pays for everything except the service at the Town Office. The organization receives grants to offer the boat inspection services on Fridays through Sundays during summer months and on holidays.

Muller said she understood the reasons for the payroll services being stopped but wished she had more notice.

The Select Board had a posted executive session June 4, according to its agenda. Muller and her husband, Wynn, received the letter recently when they arrived at their seasonal residence in Wilton from their home in Connecticut.

They scrambled for two weeks to get a payroll service in place to pay the inspectors. They are typically students from Mt. Blue High School in Farmington, Spruce Mountain High School in Jay as well as others who may be older. It is a summer job for them, Muller said.

She said she is hoping the town will get involved somehow to protect Wilson Pond because as of Tuesday, the town is no longer supporting the program.

About 1,000 boats are inspected each year. The program costs about $6,000. The organization has 310 members and receives corporate sponsorships with each one sponsoring a weekend during the summer, and a grant from the Maine Department of Environmental Protection. They also offer scholarships, have a monitoring buoy of the pond handled by the University of Maine at Farmington, and provide loon education to third graders.

The pond is 563 acres with a maximum depth of 88 feet and supports trout, salmon, togue, smelt, smallmouth bass, perch, pickerel and hornpout.

Select Board Chairperson Tiffany Maiuri said it is not that town doesn’t want to support the organization, it is they couldn’t because of insurance and other legalities.

Maiuri is a dues-paying member of Friends of Wilson Lake. She said she is willing to help the group in any way she can as a resident. She said the town values the organization’s efforts to protect the lake.

Muller thanked the town for their support over the years.

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