Town meetings

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Ashland

Residents at Tuesday’s town meeting raised $102,174 for police protection with three full-time officers. The town hadn’t filled one position after a police officer retired last year, leaving two officers.

The 29 residents who attended the 60-minute meeting approved a municipal budget in the amount of $1,047,993. The school and county taxes have yet to be determined.

The budget included $55,000 in legal fees regarding the tax abatement dispute at the local energy plant.

Residents also voted against hiring an assistant code enforcement officer.

At the polls Monday, voters elected to the Town Council for three years David Milligan with 146 votes and William Lothrop with 131 votes. Other candidates for those seats were incumbent Ronald Rushinal, who had 74 votes, Dwight Hafford, 80 votes, and Michael Fundalewicz Sr., 12 votes.

Norman Long was unopposed for re-election to the three-year seat on the water and sewer district. Incumbent Linda Milligan and Stephanie Landry were unopposed for the two three-year positions as library trustees.

Mapleton

Within 30 minutes, 30 residents at Monday’s town meeting adopted a municipal budget nearly $10,000 higher than a year ago. The $701,358 budget included a $3,000 match for a state grant to develop a comprehensive plan. Increases in office expenses, such as computer maintenance and upgrades, salaries and insurances also raised the budget.

John Edgecomb, town manager for the last 11 years in Mapleton, which has 1,889 residents, is expecting a slight increase in the tax rate when the bills all come in, including education costs.

Edgecomb also is town manager for Castle Hill, with 454 residents, and Chapman, with 465 residents. The three adjoining townships are the only set of towns in the state linked together in an interlocal agreement with the three offices all under one roof.

Edgecomb will speak this afternoon to members of the Legislature’s Community Preservation Advisory Committee on his experiences and observations.

“Last year was tough,” Edgecomb said Thursday. “It was the first time the towns have not exceeded their [development] goals. It makes us take a good hard look at what we can put off until next year. We ran a very tight budget this year and were very lucky to be as close to last year as we were. Sometimes we sharpen our pencils beyond reality.”

The budget did not cut services and will run the usual programs, said Edgecomb.

He expects revenues to run a little higher than last year, and the additional taxation also will help to pay the higher costs, including county taxes, which were up $3,500.

The tax rate is $16.80 per $1,000 in property valuation. Most of the taxation revenues come from residential properties and farmland. The school and county taxes have yet to be determined.

With 67 votes, incumbent Bonnie Steeves was re-elected, along with Barry Buck, who had 57 votes, to the two three-year seats on the Board of Selectmen.

Other contenders for those seats were Jim Burrill, with 39 votes, and Nathan Gardiner, with 22 votes.

Incumbent Keith Doyen was unopposed in his bid for re-election to the three-year term as assessor. Robert Bagley also was unopposed for the three-year position as sewer district trustee.

Castle Hill

It took 20 residents just 15 minutes at Tuesday’s annual meeting to approve a $212,334 municipal budget.

The $8,256 increase over last year reflected similar expenses in Mapleton’s town budget approved the night before. The two towns, along with Chapman, share many expenses, including a town office, in an interlocal agreement.

Voters made definition changes in the town’s ordinance dealing with subdivisions to mirror state law.

In Castle Hill, revenues of $10,400 used to support its budgets are the result of timber harvesting in the town’s 7,500-acre woodlot. More harvesting will be undertaken this year to fund increased expenses in the town and school budgets.

Town Manager John Edgecomb expects a slight increase, less than one-half mill, to the town’s tax rate of $17 per $1,000 in property valuation. The school and county taxes have yet to be determined.

Incumbents Richard A. Vigue and Richard Carter were elected unopposed to the two three-year seats on the Board of Selectmen.

Incumbent Maylen C. Kenney was returned unopposed to the position of assessor for three more years.

– Compiled by

Gloria Flannery