Mount Desert voters pass six-month budget

MOUNT DESERT – Local voters have approved a six-month budget of $4.1 million, according to a town official.

Town Manager Michael MacDonald said Tuesday that the budget was approved Dec. 6 by 53 local voters attending a special town meeting at the elementary school in the local village of Northeast Harbor.

The purpose of the meeting was to enable the town to switch its fiscal year from following the calendar year to a July 1 through June 30 time frame.

Besides the routine municipal budget, voters agreed to raise $400,000 for redesigning the sewer treatment plant in Somesville, accepted a $75,000 gift to spend on planning services, and decided to let town officials spend up to $30,000 of marina user fees for redesigning the land-based facilities at the public marina in Northeast Harbor.

Voters also agreed to raise $25,000 to put toward a fund to defend local control of schools, MacDonald said. The special town meeting lasted 42 minutes.