DIXFIELD – Eight of 10 members present at Tuesday night’s Finance Committee meeting approved recommending a proposed $1.65 million municipal budget.

The Board of Selectmen’s recommendation for the June 12 annual town meeting was not immediately known or totaled. Nor has the warrant been finalized yet.

The 5 p.m. Finance Committee meeting opened with, at times, heated exchanges between Town Manager Nanci Allard and a handful of committee members.

Some members were upset that the time of the meeting had been changed four times in two weeks.

Then, when running through the list of changes that selectmen made at an impromptu meeting Monday night, Clarke, Bettina Martin, Terry Robinson and Scott Dennett clashed with Allard over a proposed, town manager salary increase.

Salary hike questioned

Dennett questioned Allard’s statement that selectmen, Monday night, had agreed upon a $45,360 salary for the town manager’s second year.

Allard said selectmen gave her a contract. Clarke disagreed, saying Allard had previously told the committee that she was to receive $42,000 for her first and second years, and $45,000 for her third year.

Allard disagreed.

“This group has no say as far as my contract is concerned,” she said.

Following more discussion, Dennett then apologized for raising the topic.

Committee Chairman Bentley Crosby called for a vote.

Four members agreed to recommend that $194,340 – which includes Allard’s salary of $45,360 – be raised by taxation. The other four members abstained.

Another minor clash occurred when the committee discussed the Code Enforcement Department budget. Members had previously agreed to recommend raising $10,000 for it.

Allard said selectmen Monday night agreed to recommend raising an additional $4,000 to cover the cost of buying a rugged laptop computer system and GIS software for mapping purposes.

Allard said she learned Tuesday that she got a grant for $1,200 to offset the cost of the software, but told the committee they should recommend raising $4,000 – $2,800 for the laptop and $1,200 for the software. The grant money would then offset the software money raised.

Dennett instead made a motion that the committee recommend raising $2,800. Then, it could take $1,200 out of that to buy the software, and replace it with the $1,200 of incoming grant money to get the laptop.

It was approved 8-0.

Review set June 3

Clarke then further riled Allard, requesting a copy of year-to-date expenditures and a balance sheet of the town’s reserve and surplus funds.

Clarke was upset that Allard reportedly hadn’t provided the group with the documents prior to their deliberations on the proposed municipal budget.

Allard responded, “I have no secrets. If you have questions, go look at the audit books. It’s public information.”

Clarke, however, asked for and got Crosby to set a meeting at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, June 3, to review the requested documents.

The committee also managed to upset Black Mountain of Maine Operating Board Chairman Roger Arsenault, who arrived at the meeting as instructed, only to learn that the board had already adjourned.

“We do apologize for not notifying Roger of the change in meeting time,” Crosby added, while watching an upset Arsenault return to his vehicle and drive off.

Earlier, the committee had also agreed to recommend that voters only raise $1,000 in community support of the Rumford ski resort to help with next year’s operating budget. That was $9,000 short of the amount Arsenault had requested.

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