The 2-hour and 40-minute meeting started off on a positive note when Town Manager John Simko predicted that the property tax mil rate will decrease this year, possibly to as low as $18.36 per $1,000. The current rate is $20.20.

While the municipal budget is up 4.75 percent and the school budget up by 1.26 percent, a combination of increased municipal revenue and the fact that the town picked up an additional $20 million in property valuation accounted for the decreased mil rate.

But Simko said that the valuation also has a down side. "The obvious reason is that people are still paying exorbitant prices for property either on the lake or where they can get a glimpse of the lake," said the town manager. So this means that in-town property and business owners will probably see their tax bills decrease or remain stable while those in the outskirts of town with views of the lake will see higher property taxes.

While voters breezed through most of the articles with little or no discussion, the recycling enhancement ordinance drew the lengthiest debate.

Many residents like Howard Gautreau said that while they supported the concept of the ordinance, there were a lot of unanswered questions. Gautreau, who works for Indian Hill Trading Post, said that he was concerned that people who didn't want to recycle would just toss their trash into private Dumpsters® like those at his place of business. "What about the rest area? Are they going to be able to monitor what's going on there?" Gautreau asked.

Simko conceded that "no ordinance is perfect" and residents are going to have to get used to the new rules. But he predicted that even if the town's recycling rate was increased by 20 percent "we could extend the life of the landfill by another 6 or 8 years."

The Board of Selectmen recommended approval of the ordinance, even though some were concerned that residents would balk at making the practice mandatory. Eugene Murray Sr., chairman of the board, said that the proposed ordinance was widely publicized and a public hearing was also held on the rule. "If you choose not to do it, now's the time to decide," said Murray.

Selectmen Bonnie DuBien also said that there were ways "to encourage recycling rather than making it mandatory."

But after an amendment to limit the rules to cardboard and newsprint only failed by a 10-vote margin, voters approved the new rules overwhelmingly.

They also voted to pay an additional $6,900 per year for monthly curbside pickup of recyclable material and $2,500 for recycling bins for each eligible household. All homes would get one bin free of charge, but an additional one could be purchased at an estimated cost of $7.

Basically, the new rules prohibit the deposit of corrugated cardboard, newsprint, mixed paper, clear and colored glass, tin and aluminum cans and No. 1 and No. 2 stamped plastics into the landfill. There are no penalties set aside for violators, but landfill attendants can spot check trash bags and simply refuse to accept any with recyclable materials.

The town meeting started with 17 articles on the $2.9 million school budget, but few questions were asked about that part of the warrant, either.

Many of the individual accounts either stayed nearly flat or decreased slightly with the exception of special education and plant maintenance.

School Union 60 lost some of its state subsidy this year even though the Legislature approved an across-the-board increase for Maine school districts.

Burt Whitman, a former School Committee member and candidate for the Board of Selectmen, asked about the status of the teacher's contract, which expires in late summer, and whether it would affect the bottom line of the salary accounts. School Committee Chairman Richard Gould explained that since the contract was in negotiations, he couldn't give a specific answer. But Gould predicted that "the figures won't change that much."

On the municipal budget, some questions were raised about the $14,500 increase in the airport account and the nearly $14,000 hike in hydrant rental.

On the airport issue, Simko explained that the increase was a local match for what may turn out to be a million dollar runway repaving project paid by 90 percent federal, 5 percent state and 5 percent local funds.

Shelia McIver said that she was concerned about spending money on the airport "when we're cutting teachers' supplies down to nothing." But Murray said that unless the town takes a more aggressive approach to economic development, "Any more tax increases are coming right out of our pockets."

The hydrant rental increase, explained Simko, was directly related to Consumer Water Company's 11.6 percent rate hike recently approved by the Maine Public Utilities Commission.
"This content originally appeared as a copyrighted article in the Moosehead Messenger and is used here with permission."