HARRISON – The meeting wasn’t too argumentative, nor too calm.

It wasn’t too fast, nor too slow.

It was just a good, old-fashioned Maine town meeting and, in the end, voters axed two articles to save $68,000 in taxes and reduced several gifts to social service agencies.

And they took the time to talk out several articles.

“The citizens just want to know,” said Michael Thorne, Harrison town manager for 16 years. “I thought that there might even have been more questions than there were.

“This wasn’t a meeting out of the ordinary. But we have had some meetings that went faster in the past,” he said of the meeting that lasted more than two hours.

The gross budget for the town ended at $1,851,900.

The total tax commitment, including SAD 17, county taxes and deletions for revenue, put the budget at $3,704,149, after including revenues.

Two citizen articles on the town warrant – $33,000 for the Caswell Library restoration and $35,000 for the Harrison Elementary School floor – were cut. Neither had the selectmen’s endorsement.

Prior to the meeting, Thorne had called the budget fiscally conservative, with three of the major increases outside the town’s control.

The tipping fees increased a little more than $15,000, pushing the solid waste disposal bill to $283,988. The cost of the resident deputy from the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office increased $4,257, to $77,211. Thorne said Harrison has no control over the union negotiations between the sheriff’s office and the deputies.

Benefits questioned

Another uncontrollable increase was in the fringe benefits line item. It increased $14,011 due to an 18 percent increase in health insurance.

Several townspeople questioned the validity of increasing fringe benefits at a time when some people who are paying for those benefits have none of their own.

Selectman Shelia Smith told residents that town employees are getting less coverage than last year and have a higher deductible.

It was suggested that perhaps town employees could pay more of the share for insurance.

“What the town of Harrison offers its employees is not out of line with other towns,” Thorne said.

Thorne said selectmen had changed companies for insurance coverage to a less expensive plan this year to keep the increase at 18 percent. Thorne said the employee co-pay increased by $5 a visit and the cost of prescription drugs did not change.

Another large increase was $9,254 for town office salaries, which Thorne said represents a 40-cent per hour across the board raise and a per diem clerk for 10 hours per week.

Voters had just approved Article 36, giving the Caswell Library $30,830 – a $2,030 increase over last year – for standard operating expenses, when the citizen-initiated Article 37 asked them for another $33,000 for the library.

Several citizens wondered why an extra $33,000 was needed over the usual yearly cost.

Dave Kollander, a trustee on the library board, said it was needed to begin renovations on the soon-to-be vacated town office building.

Town employees are preparing to move up the street into the Maxfield Commons building. The library will then move into the vacated town office.

Kollander explained that the project would cost about $525,000 and, although a USDA loan for that amount has been approved and fund-raising is ongoing, the library needs to have the cash on hand to proceed with the renovation.

The townspeople, however, handily voted the article down.

“I can’t say I’m overly surprised one way or the other,” Thorne said. “Although, I thought both library articles might pass.”

jsmedley@sunjournal.com