The spending Alna taxpayers approved at their annual town meeting in March came home to roost in the form of the first mil rate increase for the town in three years.
Meeting at the Alna town office on Thursday, July 13, the Alna Select Board voted 2-1 to raise the fiscal year 2024 mil rate to $21.45, a $2.50 or 13.2% increase. Under the new tax rate, taxes on a $100,000 house would be $2,145.
Board member Coreysha Stone voted in opposition, urging the board to take funds from the town’s undesignated fund balance to limit the tax increase to the lowest allowable figure. Board members Ed Pentaleri and Steven Graham voted in favor of the increase arguing the undesignated fund balance, which was $353,318 on Jan. 1, was not enough to fund the town operations for more than two months, and applying it could only reduce the increase by .8%.
Pentaleri said a number of factors contributed to the increase, including the first annual $49,000 payment of principal and interest for the town’s paving projects, and changes in the labor market that forced the town to “substantially increase” compensation to attract and retain qualified personnel for the town office and impacted the hiring ability of the town’s previous snowplow contractor.
The contractor Holbrook Excavating, of Woolwich, ended up terminating the three-year contract Nov. 9, 2022, one year early, citing “unreasonable demands” and “insinuations of theft” related to an email the town’s lawyer sent to Holbrook on Nov. 4, 2022.
“When he walked away from the last year of his contract in November it ended up costing the town about $130,000 more to replace those services,” Pentaleri said. “In the end we ended paying more for a lot of things … Taken together the town ended up approving about $270,000 more in spending during the town meeting we held in March than we approved the previous year.”
“It’s a shock to go from stable to a 13% increase,” Stone said. “My feeling is we should pull that down as low as we possibly can. Our surplus looks healthier this year. Our operating funds are healthy and we underestimated how much we would make in excise tax this year.”
Graham said it is good to keep the mil rate down when possible, but the undesignated fund balance is not as large as it looks.
“I think it would be more painful if we kept (the mil rate) low and realized at some point during the year we are going to be short and have to go back to the town to get more money from folks,” he said.
In other business, Pentaleri responded to concerns regarding the board’s executive session policy. During the board’s June 29 meeting, Pentaleri was observed participating in part of an executive session with the town attorney and Graham and Stone.
After an ethics hearing in June 8, Pentaleri was recused from matters pertaining to litigation involving Golden Ridge Road resident Jeff Spinney. Pentaleri said the board was addressing two legal issues June 29, including a contractual issue and the Spinney matter, and that he left before the Spinney case was discussed.
Going forward, the board would only schedule one executive session issue per meeting Pentaleri said. In the unlikely event two or more executive sessions are needed, the board would deal with each issue in separate, clearly articulated executive sessions.
“We don’t often have executive sessions to begin with so I doubt that we are likely to face this sort of situation again, but we do understand there were some concerns following our last meeting and we want to take steps to minimize such concerns going forward,” Pentaleri said.
The board unanimously agreed to purchase no trespassing signs for town properties, including Pinkham Pond and Head Tide Dam. Language on the signs will prohibit trespassing and parking between sunset and sunrise and the use of drugs, alcohol, and fires on town property.
“We recently had some complaints about late night partying and overnight parking at Head Tide Dam,” Pentaleri said. “The partying has created a disturbance for some of the neighboring homeowners and has also resulted in some damage to the site as well.”
The board discussed plans to remediate gravel added to the boat launch area at Pinkham Pond in April without a Maine Department of Environmental Protection permit. Pentaleri said he has put together a plan to remove the stones manually and has organized volunteers to do so.
A DEP official has approved Pentaleri’s plan and indicated the town could obtain a permit by rule for the gravel.
Pentaleri announced the board has accepted the resignation of Alna Planning Board Chair Jim Amaral, effective at the end of the planning board’s Aug. 1 meeting. The board hopes to appoint a volunteer to the board to serve the remaining eight months of Amaral’s term.
The board announced it will begin holding working meetings every other Wednesday at the town office at 6 p.m. The board had previously met for working meetings Wednesdays at 11 a.m.
The change in time is intended to make it easier for the public to attend the work session, Pentaleri said. During the Wednesday meetings, board members exchange information on town business and set the agenda for the Thursday board meetings. No business is transacted and no votes are taken Wednesdays.
The Alna Select Board’s next working meeting is 6 p.m. on Wednesday, July 19. The board’s next business meeting is 6 p.m. on Thursday, July 27. Both meetings convene at the town office at 1574 Alna Road (Route 218).
