Town meetings

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Guilford

Residents adopted a $1 million municipal budget during the annual town meeting Monday.

About 100 people attended the approximately one-hour meeting during which William Thompson was returned to the Board of Selectmen, according to Town Manager Tom Goulette.

Others elected Monday included Allyn Ward to the Guilford-Sangerville Sanitary District; Heidi Dow and Keith Kendall to three-year positions on the SAD 4 board, and Carrie Fellows to a one-year board seat.

Residents adopted an interest rate of 11 percent on unpaid taxes effective Sept. 1. Taxes will be due when presented. The return interest rate on overpayment of taxes will be 7 percent.

While Goulette told residents the town’s spending plan likely would not exceed the tax level limit, residents gave their approval to exceed it, if necessary.

Residents also voted to amend the town’s zoning ordinance to reflect the state’s regulations on the use of outside boilers. Since the state’s ordinance on outside boilers is more restrictive than the local ordinance, it made the latter ordinance on outside boilers basically moot.

Approval was given to use $70,000 for paving to help improve the road network.

(Diana Bowley, BDN)

Atkinson

Residents at the annual town meeting Monday narrowly defeated a move that would have replaced the town’s timber harvesting standards with the state’s less-restrictive standards.

The vote to repeal the town’s forest harvesting ordinance of Nov. 4, 1997, failed 14-13.

Residents again supported Atkinson students who are in college or are advancing their education. Each high school senior from town attending higher education will receive a $500 scholarship, and full-time college students in their second year and up will receive a $300 donation.

Additionally, residents approved a $200 donation to each high school junior from Atkinson attending the Close-Up program in May in Washington, D.C.

The scholarship funds and the donation are funded through the Atkinson School Trust Funds, funds generated from sale of the former Atkinson school.

In addition to approving all funding articles, residents elected Carl Dow II to a three-year term on the Board of Selectmen. Katherine Kinney was re-elected as town clerk, treasurer and tax collector. Also elected were Michael Snow as constable; Tony Zambrano to the Hospital Administrative District 4 board; and Linda Conley to the SAD 41 board.

(Diana Bowley, BDN)

Brownville

Residents gave their approval at the annual town meeting Monday to use up to $80,000 from surplus to spruce up the town garage.

Estimates have placed the cost of a roof at $55,000, heating and hot water at $10,000, and electrical work at $15,000.

About 70 residents approved a $9,940 appropriation from surplus to send an officer to the Maine Criminal Justice Academy and the use of an additional $4,720 from surplus to be combined with an $8,500 appropriation from the cruiser reserve for the purchase of a police cruiser.

Residents approved spending $125,325 for the Police Department’s operation; $90,315 for public safety, which includes hydrant rental, streetlights, public safety, ambulance service and animal control; $7,015 for Fire Department operations; $58,230 for sanitation; and $186,660 for public works.

Linda Coburn and Michael Dean were elected as selectmen, and Vaughn Clapp was returned to the SAD 41 board.

(Diana Bowley, BDN)

Parkman

About 140 residents, gathered for the annual town meeting Saturday, approved recommended funding for town government, with the exception of selectmen’s salaries.

Residents voted to continue to pay the chairman of the Board of Selectmen $6,000 and the two other selectmen $1,500. A proposal had been made to increase the salary of the board chairman to $8,000 and the remaining two board members to $2,500.

Elected were Joe Vernott as selectman; Anita Kain to the SAD 4 board; James Bennett as road commissioner; Pat Johnson as chairman of the Board of Selectmen; Margaret Wood to the Harvey Memorial Library trustees; and Carl O’Donnell as planning board alternate.

Approval was given for town officials to use $94,500 from surplus to help reduce the tax commitment.

(Diana Bowley, BDN)

Abbot

Residents took no action at the annual town meeting Monday in regard to rehabilitating the tennis court, and they tabled a proposal to pave the Town Hall parking lot.

While the approximately 90 residents in attendance increased the contribution for Memorial Day from $200 to $400, they voted down all social service agency requests with the exception of Womancare. Residents voted to donate $200 to that agency.

Rather than appropriate $4,000 for the capital improvement account, residents amended the article and voted to take the money from surplus, according to Town Clerk Lorraine Leeman.

Residents also voted to use the balance in the town road improvement account of about $88,000 to maintain the roads, Leeman said Tuesday. They further voted to raise $20,000 and directed selectmen to earmark the balance in the excise tax account for road building.

Elected were Corey Hill, selectman; Lorraine Leeman, town clerk and tax collector; Alice Weymouth, treasurer; and Karen Brown, SAD 4 board.

(Diana Bowley, BDN)

Monson

About 25 of the town’s 579 registered voters gathered Monday to adopt a municipal spending plan of $711,751, which excludes school and county costs.

Some residents questioned why the town continued to fund 100 percent of the health insurance costs for town employees, according to Town Manager Julie Anderson.

Anderson said Tuesday she advised the residents that this year’s raises factored in the town’s increase in health insurance costs. The budget includes a 3 percent cost-of-living increase for town employees and out of that each will pay $297 to cover the increase in the 2008 fiscal year.

Anderson also told residents that town officials were anticipating doing some crack and seal work on North Guilford Road, the end that has not been rehabilitated. Work also is planned on Indian Point Loop Road and Barrow’s Falls Road.

Elected were Mark Lewis as selectman; David Ray and Rick Kelley to the gym committee; Doug Hewes to the Monson Utilities District; Ken Allen and Thomas Adkins to the planning board; Paul Suomi, planning board alternate; and John Greenleaf and Joyce Copeland to the board of appeals.

(Diana Bowley, BDN)