Bremen voters passed all articles on the town meeting warrant March 28, approving the municipal and secondary education budgets in open meeting and a new clam management ordinance by secret ballot.
The municipal budget was passed as proposed at $814,088, down $19,131 or 2.3 percent from last year.
As in 2014, the appropriation of $3,000 for a land conservation reserve fund was the hot topic for discussion, but unlike 2014, voters did approve the budget.
The budget committee had again recommended no funds be appropriated for the request.
Concerns were raised about appropriating funds for the account without a specific project in mind, but others argued in favor of the appropriation to show annual support for conservation in town, which could help with grants.
“I think if you wait ’til you have a project to start putting money aside, it’s a little too late,” said resident Mary Sue Weeks.
As the town does with other reserve accounts for things like a fire truck purchase, the goal is to put aside small amounts annually to help keep the tax rate flat, said Selectman Hank Nevins.
However, the requests from the selectmen to transfer undesignated funds into reserve accounts at town meeting were down by about $65,000 this year.
The requests, $20,000 for the Bremen Town House reserve and $8,000 for property revaluation, were both approved. Other reserve transfers approved in 2014, such as a request for the fire truck reserve, the capital improvement reserve, and bridges and roads reserve, were not included in the warrant.
The selectmen are still planning to request additional funds be put aside in other reserve accounts later this year, but want to hold a special town meeting to do so after the town’s K-8 education budget is decided, according to Selectman Chair Wendy Pieh.
According to Pieh, the selectmen are also considering a proposal to change Bremen over from a calendar fiscal year to a July to June fiscal year, with annual town meeting held in June. The change would allow voters to be better informed about the overall budget picture at town meeting, she said.
With the roads and bridges budget, the one item of disagreement between the town’s budget committee and selectmen, voters opted for the selectmen’s lower recommendation of $262,400 over the budget committee’s $274,400 recommendation.
The difference between the two recommendations was on the road maintenance and repair line, at either $110,000 or $122,000.
The larger amount would have funded a double layer of chip sealing, a type of road surface treatment, on the town’s Shore, Muscongus, and Storer roads, and a single layer on Heath Road.
The smaller, approved amount will fund a single layer on all four roads.
Bremen’s secondary education budget was approved as recommended, $477,082, up $6,042 or 1.28 percent over the current year.
Due to a smaller utilization of undesignated funds as a fund beginning balance for the secondary budget – $89,000 as opposed to $130,000 in the current year – the town’s local appropriation will likely go up, according to budget documents.
The change is partially offset by an estimated $3,811 increase in state subsidy, but the local appropriation in total would be $375,962, an increase of $43,231 or about 13 percent.
The largest increase in the budget is in the special education category, proposed at $70,029, up $12,409, due to four incoming freshmen with special education needs, AOS 93 Business Manager Kati Hunt said previously.
Other secondary education budget changes includes a new $10,959 contingency, a decrease of $8,587 in the regular instruction category, and the removal of a roughly $4,000 contingency for a career and technical education student to attend Mid-Coast School of Technology in Rockland.
According to Town Clerk Kelly Clancy, Deputy Clerk Martha Varsano missed town meeting due to a hospital stay but still assisted Clancy with a couple of procedural questions by phone.
Varsano was “hugely missed” at the meeting, Clancy said in an email March 31.
“She loves the town meetings and was very sorry that she could not attend,” Clancy said.
In secret ballot voting, the town’s current clam ordinance was repealed and replaced by a vote of 55-18.
The new ordinance changes the way license holders can earn the right to reserve their licenses in upcoming license years, as well as the way conservation work would be done, among other changes.
There were no contested races for office in 2015, but there were some ties for write-ins.
Selectman Boe Marsh was reelected for a three year term with 66 votes.
For a three year term on the school board, Kerry Weber received three write-in votes, as did Parker Renelt, the incumbent who was not running for reelection.
For four three-year terms on the planning board, candidates James Boak received 51 votes, Thomas Kronenberer 58 votes, and Walter Voskian, 55 votes.
Write-ins Dennis Prior and John Mohr received five and four votes, respectively, the most of several people receiving write-in votes, moderator Don Means said.
For a single three-year term on the harbor committee, Dale Witham and Fern Poland each received two write-in votes.
Town Clerk Kelly Clancy said she has been in touch with some of the write-in candidates about the races, but which, if any, will accept their election had not yet been determined as of March 31.
