LIVERMORE FALLS – Selectmen gave their approval Monday night to a 40-article annual town meeting warrant, one which contains several recommendations from both the board and the Budget Committee.

Comparison figures provided by Town Manager Alan Gove show the two groups are only $10,000 apart on the bottom line, the selectmen proposing $2,012,652 in town expenditures while the committee suggests $2,002,645.

Major differences have the board recommending $34,710 for ambulance service while the committee made no recommendation; and the board cutting dispatch by one shift and police slightly while the committee fully funds both.

The committee wants to cut the amount paid for the assessor’s assistant, denied a request to put $12,000 in capital improvements for ground speed controls on the highway sanders, and made no recommendation on a proposal to raise $5,000 for capital reserve for Fire Engine 3.

Library President Roger Ouellette again approached the board to discuss library funding.

He read portions of a Jan. 17, 2002, letter from the attorney of the Anne Marie Tessier estate, saying her $15,000 bequest was to be used not as a part of the usual library budget but to supplement it and to provide more long-lasting benefits to the residents.

Ouellette said the trustees interpret this to mean they can only use the interest to buy books but Chairman Bill Demaray disagreed, noting that the donor specifically stated it was to be used to buy books.

He noted that, with interests rates as they are, the trustees were expecting the town to raise $4,000 (which he had previously suggested be cut) to buy books so they could earn $450 interest. “My opinion is the money should be used, money is tight,” Demaray said. “You have money to buy them, use it as a supplement to help the taxpayers.”

“Money is always tight,” Ouellette replied. “The town has never given me the money to run the library the way I want.”

In other business, the board agreed to sign the agreement with Evelyn Chabot on her sewer bill refund at the next meeting, to purchase an autoclave for the sewage treatment plant, to put the old generator out to bid and to accept a $10,000 gift from the Minnie Luciano estate.

They also accepted a $500 offer from Keith Fraser, former Laundromat owner, on the $1,400 he owes in overdue personal property taxes. He no longer owns the business and will pay the $500 by June 4.

The Foundry Road gates will be taken down from dawn to dusk, the board agreed, and signs will be erected about speed and to watch for pedestrians.

Town Clerk Kristal Flagg reported that, if a secret ballot is anticipated on any of the warrant articles, she must be prepared with a voter registration list, ballot box, clerks and voting papers.

Asking for a secret ballot must be done prior to discussion on an article and must be approved by a majority vote, she reported.

The Maine Department of Transportation will hold a public meeting on the Route 4 project, from Bridge Street to Pineau Street, at 6 p.m. June 3 at Murray Hall.

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