From left: Ballot clerks Delia Mohlie and Wanda Collamore prepare to welcome Waldoboro voters to the polls on June 11 as Town Clerk Pamela Jameson looks on. (Molly Rains photo)
Waldoboro voters approved 60 warrant articles at their annual town meeting by referendum on Tuesday, June 11, accepting a municipal budget of $8,258,355 and opting to invest $316,000 to bring fiber internet townwide.
The municipal budget marks an increase of $1,400,438, or 20.42%, over last year’s budget.
The taxpayer impact from the approved budget has decreased from last year, however, totaling $3,124,693, a decrease of $9,741 or 0.31%.
Funds used to lower the taxpayer impact include $1,171,705 in fund balance utilization and money from other sources, including revenue from town services, licenses, permits, and grant funding from the Local Road Assistance Program block grant fund.
Voters elected to utilize $4,930,662 from estimated revenues to offset property taxes in an 1,117-182 vote on article 42 and chose to utilize $86,368 in Local Road Assistance Program block grant funding in a 835-353 vote on article 43.
Warrant article 45, concerning the allocation of $316,000 in funding from the general fund and tax increment financing district to help match a potential grant to bring fiber broadband internet townwide, also passed.
Taxpayer approval of the article authorizes the town to proceed in joining Wiscasset, Dresden, Woolwich, and possibly other Lincoln County towns in a joint effort to secure grant funding to build townwide internet networks.
If the funding is secured, Waldoboro will enter into a partnership with communications utility Consolidated Communications LLC to construct and administer the internet service.
According to internet consultant Evan Goodkowsky, about 276 homes in Waldoboro are currently not able to get any kind of internet service besides satellite, which is often costly and unreliable.
The broadband project passed 828-386. Lincoln County will provide an additional $100,000 in match funding from American Rescue Plan Act funds for the project.
Article 46, to bring the town’s land use ordinances into compliance with new state housing laws, passed 658-471. Another article concerning amendments to administration of the tax increment financing district also passed 762-402.
The last warrant article, number 60, concerned the transfer of $203,000 from the sale of Friendship Street School to the capital reserve surface paving program to pay for planned road paving without increasing the budget’s taxpayer impact. This article passed 926-249.
Also at the polls on June 11, voters elected Abden Simmons and Rebecca Stephens to the select board, with 599 and 457 votes, respectively. The two defeated challengers Sandra O’Farrell, with 448 votes; William Bragg, with 357 votes; and Brendan McGuirl, with 338 votes.
O’Farrell has requested a recount, which will be held on Thursday, June 20 (see related article).
Another contested election for two seats on the RSU 40 Board of Directors was won by Benjamin Stickney, with 737 votes, and Leah Shipps, with 577 votes.
Other candidates for school board were Steven Karp, who received 510 votes, and Tabatha MacArthur, with 429 votes.
In an uncontested election for two seats on the budget committee, Kelly Whitlock-Burton was elected with 840 votes and Michael Amico with 832 votes.
Mark Barbour, with 784 votes, and Gordon Webster, with 907 votes, were elected to two seats on the utility district board of trustees in an uncontested election.
