Wiscasset’s school resource officer and two non-binding opinion polls on discontinuing the Wiscasset Police Department and the Wiscasset Emergency Medical Services are among the 55 warrant articles to be voted on at Wiscasset’s referendum town meeting Tuesday, June 9.
Polls will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the Wiscasset Community Center.
Voters will decide whether to raise approximately $4,323,071 in property taxes and allocate approximately $305,227 from the capital reserve account to support the overall municipal budget of $5,789,733 – a 1.34 percent decrease from the previous year. The municipal budget includes the expenditure for the wastewater treatment plant, to be funded from the department’s revenue and surplus, and the county tax.
The school resource officer was almost not included in the warrant. Wiscasset selectmen removed the warrant article asking for the appropriation of $47,400 for a school resource officer at their April 21 selectmen’s meeting, which sparked negative feedback.
The decision was reversed at a special selectmen’s meeting held April 24 to finalize the warrant.
Voters will decide the fate of Wiscasset’s school resource officer when they answer warrant article 4.
The school resource officer was narrowly approved at Wiscasset’s 2014 town meeting with three separate votes taken before the police department budget, with the school resource officer included, was approved.
The selectmen and budget committee diverged in their recommendations for the police department budget in 2014. The current warrant article for the school resource officer carries no recommendation from the selectmen or the budget committee.
Voters will be asked whether to raise and appropriate $342,810 for the police department in warrant article 6. The selectmen and budget committee members both recommend approval of the budget.
Selectmen and budget committee members diverged in their recommendation for warrant article 19, an appropriation of $39,000 from the capital reserve account for a new police cruiser. Selectmen voted for the appropriation, 3-2. The budget committee voted against the appropriation, 4-3.
Article 54 is the non-binding opinion poll that will ask voters whether to discontinue the Wiscasset Police Department and use the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office instead. There have been no public discussions between Wiscasset officials and the sheriff’s office over the proposal.
The straw polls are part of Wiscasset’s assessment of municipal services and will gauge public support for those services as selectmen look to the future, Town Manager Marian Anderson said in a previous interview.
Article 55 is the non-binding opinion poll that will ask voters whether to discontinue the Wiscasset Emergency Medical Services Department in favor of a private company. Selectmen received bids from private ambulance companies to determine if it would be cheaper than supporting Wiscasset EMS.
Only two bids were received and only one bid, from North East Mobile Health Services, contained hard numbers. North East Mobile Health Services outlined four options for ambulance services that ranged from $178,000 to $403,000.
The $178,000 option would provide one paramedic unit stationed in Wiscasset with three on-call EMTs. The company would use the Wiscasset EMS station rent-free and would purchase the better of their two ambulances for $1, according to the proposal.
The $403,000 option would provide one paramedic/EMT unit stationed in Wiscasset and one on-call unit for a secondary response team. The Wiscasset EMS station would be rented by the company and the better of the Wiscasset EMS ambulances would be purchased for an agreed upon price.
Article 37 will ask voters whether to raise and appropriate $286,288 for the Wiscasset EMS budget. The appropriation will be offset by $232,000 in revenue Wiscasset EMS projects to generate in 2015-2016. The selectmen and the budget committee recommend approval of the warrant article.
Article 17 will ask voters whether to approve a $25,000 appropriation from the capital reserve account for repairs to Wiscasset EMS’ 2003 ambulance. Both selectmen and the budget committee recommend approval of the appropriation.
Selectmen and budget committee members also diverged in their recommendations on the Wiscasset Municipal Airport, the Wiscasset Public Library, and the Wiscasset Parks and Recreation Department.
Article 10 will ask voters whether $742,673 should be raised and appropriated for the parks and recreation department, the single largest line item in Wiscasset’s municipal budget. Selectmen voted for the budget 3-1. The budget committee voted against the budget 4-3.
The parks and recreation department expects to generate $452,000 in revenue to offset the appropriation.
Article 44 will ask voters whether to raise $68,950 for the Wiscasset Public Library. Selectmen voted for the appropriation, 3-1. The budget committee voted unanimously in opposition to the warrant article.
Article 42 will ask voters whether to raise $283,175 for the airport. Selectmen voted for the appropriation, 3-1. The budget committee voted for the appropriation, 5-2.
Article 46 will ask voters to approve the transfer of the Wiscasset Primary School to the town and to authorize selectmen to dispose of the property in a manner beneficial to the town.
Voters will also be asked to approve two new ordinances – the historic preservation ordinance, in article 52, to protect the historic and cultural heritage of the town while providing a framework for compatible new structures, and an updated floodplain management ordinance required due to new Federal Emergency Management Agency flood maps.
Wiscasset’s referendum town meeting will be held Tuesday, June 9, at the Wiscasset Community Center. Polls will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
