About 25 Damariscotta residents dispatched 43 warrant articles in about an hour on Wednesday, June 14, approving a 9.17% budget increase with questions about differing recommendations from the select board and budget committee.
The budget passed totaled $3,662,902, an increase of $318,516.57 or 9.52%. All budget articles passed at select board recommendations except for articles 13 and 26, funding the highway department and the highway truck reserve, respectively, which passed with the higher dollar recommendations of the budget committee.
Dick McLean, a member of the budget committee, said in response to an audience question early in insuredthe meeting that the committee and select board developed their recommendations separately in an effort not to influence each other, and as a result arrived at some different figures.
Daryl Fraser, chair of the select board, added that costs have risen for everyone over the last year for items from fuel to staffing and administration. He said the largest driver in this year’s increase was staff compensation, particularly increases to the Damariscotta Police Department mandated by its union contract with the town.
The $797,562 Damariscotta Police Department budget increased $72,543 or 10.01%.
Fraser said in response to a later question that there were some places in the budget where the town could pull back for the time being, leading to lower recommendations from the select board.
All warrant articles passed as presented with the exception of Article 27, to see what sum the town will raise and expend to the highway equipment reserves. A vote on the budget committee’s recommendation of $15,000 failed. A vote on the select board’s recommendation of $10,000 passed.
On Article 23, to see what sum the town would raise and appropriate to the fire equipment reserve, resident Amy Lalime asked why the recommended $14,000 had increased from $2,000 the year before.
Damariscotta Fire Chief John Roberts said the department has a 10-year capital plan and is working to budget out replacements of air bottles and air packs over the next few years; the plan also replaces one truck at a time every several years, he said.
Article 28, to see what the town would raise and appropriate for the sidewalk reserve, had a recommendation of $40,000 from the select board and $50,000 from the budget committee. Lalime asked why these figures were recommended when last year’s budget line was $0.
According to Town Manager Andy Dorr, the reserve, totaling about $389,600, is used to maintain existing sidewalks and build new ones. It was funded at $110,000 in 2021 and $0 the following two years.
Dorr said he recommended the town begin funding the reserve again to be competitive for grant funds and to keep its commitment to projects including the Miles Street work and the municipal parking lot.
Other audience questions addressed warrant phrasing and fund administration.
The general government budget is $1,025,171, an increase of $77,285 or 8.15%. This category includes administrative, assessing, planning and development, solid waste, and municipal building costs, along with contingency, legal, insurance, and general assistance funds.
Planning and development services rise at $167,546, up $77,152 or 85.35%.
Michael Martone, redevelopment planner for the Midcoast Council of Governments, has served as acting planner since March. A full-time position is currently being advertised.
The public safety budget line decreased to $426,801, down $57,993.42 or 11.96%, this year, due primarily to changes in the formula that drives funding distribution for Central Lincoln County Ambulance Service among the nine towns it serves.
The new formula, which assesses town bills by property valuation, sets Damariscotta’s ambulance service bill at $90,760, a decrease of $62,165 or 40.65%.
The budget for public works, which consists of the highway department, cemetery maintenance, and Biscay Beach upkeep, totals $693,575, an increase of $135,962.99 or 24.38%.
The majority of that increase comes from the highway department, now at $637,195, an increase of $129,198.58 or 25.43%.
In addition to budget articles, voters nominated Martha Dodge from the floor to serve a three-year term as a cemetery trustee. Voters also approved the select board nominations of budget committee candidates Karen O’Bryan, Constance Magistrelli, and Max Johnstone for three-year terms and Gary Rosenthal for a one-year term.
At the opening of the meeting, Fraser was sworn in to the board after his reelection alongside newly elected member Daniel Hunter. Both will serve three-year terms. The select board also recognized Deputy Town Clerk and Deputy Registrar Cheryl Pinkham with flowers and plaque in appreciation of her 20 years service to the town.
At the polls on June 13, residents elected municipal officers, validated the Great Salt Bay Consolidated School District budget and a secondary education budget, approved outside agency funding requests, and enacted an amendment to the cemetery ordinance.
