Town meetings

Newport

Newport voters at the annual town meeting Saturday made a brief attempt to increase road improvement funding, but the effort was defeated. Town Clerk Paula Clark said voters hired their first full-time firefighter. The person also will work within the town office when not needed for fire and rescue emergencies.

The voters also agreed with the selectmen’s recommendations to defeat funding of a salt-sand shed because of unknown funding requirements for SAD 48 this year.

The town’s budget is proposed at $2,304,005, which is a $140,619 increase over last year.

In voting on Friday, Richard Clark was elected to the Board of Selectmen, and Roger Carr and Timothy York were elected to the SAD 48 board of directors.

Corinna

Voters overwhelmingly approved borrowing $2 million for road repairs at Saturday’s annual town meeting. By more than a 2-to-1, voters opted to borrow the funding, a move likely to increase their local taxes.

The total budget of $2,067,591 approved during the meeting is about $100,000 over last year’s budget.

Town Clerk Michelle Dumoulin said the mill rate is expected to increase by 2.5 mills, from $13.50 to $16. The $2 million loan will not affect this year’s taxes as the first payment is not due until 2009. The proposed road work includes paving seven town roads and repairing 10 gravel or dirt roads.

Voter also approved $85,000 for a second plow truck, as well as several ordinances including regulations for wood boilers and land use.

In elections held the day before, Roger Whitney and Robert Veazie were elected to the Board of Selectmen. David Sharpe was elected for a three-year term on the SAD 48 board and Barbara Marshall was elected to a one-year SAD 48 term.

Palmyra

Voters trimmed nearly $200,000 from the proposed budget at Saturday’s annual town meeting, most of it coming from road accounts, according to Selectman Michael Cray.

The town opted to cut both the paving and dirt road reconstruction plans in half, Cray said.

More than $100,000 was slashed from gravel road repair, and $90,000 in paving projects was cut. Another $20,000 was chopped from road work planned for Spring Hill Road.

The total budget approved was $826,000, a 2.5 mill increase. Selectmen explained that the increase was unavoidable since $300,000 was taken from surplus funds to lower taxation, while almost $600,000 was taken from surplus last year.

Cray said that voters also again defeated the proposed comprehensive plan. Under new budget restraints, all state funding for comprehensive planning has been cut so this was the last plan that could be developed by using state funds to hire an independent adviser.

In voting on Friday, Herb Brinkley and Priscilla Jones were re-elected as selectmen and Kelly Rowe was re-elected to the SAD 48 board of directors.

St. Albans

Voters approved additional road work funding at Saturday’s annual town meeting, appropriating $141,000 for roads. The bottom line of the municipal budget was just under a million dollars, at $972,775, which represents a 4.4 percent increase over 2007.

Voters also approved office equipment purchases, public works projects and updated ordinances.

bdnpittsfield@verizon.net

487-3187