Alna residents trimmed back the administration account and held good-humored discussions on taxes and spending during the annual town meeting at the fire station Saturday, where selectmen chair Billie Willard completed her term.
At the end of the meeting, town clerk Amy Warner swore in town officers Michael Trask for road commissioner, Dominic Caristo as treasurer and David Abbott as selectman. Twenty absentee ballots were submitted Friday for town officers, out of a total 162. David Abbott won the open seat on the board with 115 votes against 47 for Billie Willard. Michael Trask received 121 votes against six write-in votes and Dominic Caristo received 133 votes with three scattered write-in votes.
All of the articles on the annual town meeting warrant passed, but not without some discussion on funding town services and reducing the tax impact. Town meeting moderator Chris Cooper kept up the momentum with the familiarity of someone who knows the people in his community and provided opportunities for everyone to speak their mind. Half time at the Alna town meeting featured a laptop video of Trask singing, while residents enjoyed refreshments and conversation. In the more intense moments, Cooper kept certain objects handy to maintain the meeting’s focus.
“Don’t make me get out the dinosaur,” Cooper said at one point, gripping a plastic Stegosaurus and hammering it against the podium.
Selectmen and Cooper seemed surprised there were no questions regarding the Shoreland Zoning Ordinance.
“All we did was pretty much adopt the changes the state told us to adopt. Most of this was a housekeeping ordinance change,” Planning board chair Doug Baston said, giving those in the audience a chance to ask questions. There were none.
Residents adopted the Shoreland Zoning Ordinance with three opposed.
The administration account, which covers costs associated with insurance and workers’ compensation, was cut down from the recommended $53,000 to $35,949.39 following some discussion. Resident Ralph Hilton made the motion to amend the amount, as the town spent some $17,000 in legal fees last year and he did not anticipate the town would need money for that amount this year.
Selectman Tom Smith said he supported Hilton’s motion, acknowledging it was an aggressive cut.
“My feeling is we should do everything we can to reduce the municipal budget,” he said, also mentioning anticipated cuts in state funding and an increased school budget share added to taxpayer bills in the near future.
If the town was to have any serious issue in the future, $5000 would need to be raised (and approved by special town meeting vote) to cover initial costs for legal fees, Smith added.
Residents approved adding back $1000 cut from the first selectman’s annual stipend to equal last year’s amount of $6285.
In response to a question as to the reason behind the $1000 reduction, Willard said, “I didn’t feel I was worth it.”
Willard said she had tried to save taxpayer money by reducing amounts in the budget, including cutting back on the first selectman’s pay. She said she enjoyed working with people and the job was not that demanding.
“I have taken $73,000 out of the budget for the year already and there are other areas to cut and you people can cut them,” Willard said. Fire Chief and road commissioner Michael Trask suggested the town increase the first selectman’s pay by $4000, but withdrew the motion after hearing comments from the crowd. Abbott said he appreciated the gesture, but felt the additional $4000 was excessive.
“The job is worth the $6285,” Trask said.
Resident Susan Johns said she supported selectmen’s efforts in cutting expenses for taxpayers. Johns encouraged fellow voters to consider the recommended figures in light of a one third tax increase last year and anticipated costs for education.
“Think about those of us who struggle,” she said. “We don’t know what’s coming down the road.”
There had been some discussion over the fairness of cutting back on one position and keeping other salaries the same from last year to this year; however, voters almost unanimously opposed Willard’s motion to reduce all municipal officer salaries by 10 percent.
Proposals by Smith to invest fire department truck fund money, to cut the general highway account and to vote down the amount allocated for capital highway improvements were turned down. Smith said he wanted to save money on roadwork and to form a citizen’s committee to determine costs. Both articles passed voter approval at the amounts recommended by selectmen and as were written on the warrant.
Willard’s motion to reduce the recommended $48,545.75 for the solid waste contract by $500 succeeded. She said the transfer station manager has been working very hard to bring costs down.
While residents struggle with increased costs and town officials work to keep those costs down, the majority expressed their interests in supporting local non-profit organizations. Residents voted to increase total funds for organizations such as New Hope for Women and Sweetser above last year’s amount ($12,390) to $12,490.
All other articles on the warrant passed as recommended, with the exception of adding $100 to fund the Kennebec Valley Mental Health Center, $250 for the Lincoln County Animal Shelter Neuter/Spay Fund and the addition of $0 for the Maine Publicity Bureau.
Willard had said that while she supported all of the organizations listed on the warrant (without mentioning the Maine Publicity Bureau), she had asked for a 10 percent reduction in what they asked this year.
“Every drop in the bucket helps that mil rate,” she said.
