LIVERMORE FALLS – Selectmen voted Monday to put two straw votes before townspeople at the polls on Tuesday, June 14, the town manager said Tuesday.
Voters will be asked if they favor joining Franklin County. A “yes” vote will be in favor of joining Franklin County and a “no” vote will favor staying in Androscoggin County, Town Manager Alan Gove said.
A legislative committee rejected a proposal to enable Livermore Falls voters to consider switching counties in April. The proposal was rejected after it was amended to include Androscoggin County towns voting, as well as Livermore Falls and Franklin County towns.
The second ballot question will ask if residents favor having the county dispatch the town’s law enforcement services, or if they want to continue funding a local dispatch center.
A “yes” vote means the voter favors the county’s dispatching law enforcement. A “no” vote means the voter favors keeping local dispatch.
In other business, selectmen voted 3-1 to reject Gove’s request to get a cost-of-living raise that is 10 months overdue. Gove said Selectman Bill Demaray was the selectman who voted in favor of his request. Union negotiations have not been resolved with several departments, and since Gove is not a union member, he had asked at an April meeting that his increase be released.
The board voted to set the Livermore Falls/Jay operation and maintenance water flow figures for the Livermore Falls Wastewater Treatment Plant at 54.7 percent for Jay, with Livermore Falls responsible for the remainder. Last year, Jay’s rate was set at 54.1 percent. Gove said Jay’s higher percentage of the operation and maintenance cost of the plant is due to more flow coming in from that town.
Selectmen also set a special meeting for 6:30 p.m. Monday to work on the budget, Gove said.
The board has been reviewing a spending proposal of nearly $2.1 million for 2005-06 over the last several weeks, and now wants to make some decisions on it, he said. That budget figure doesn’t reflect a proposed $135,900 for capital improvements. The combined proposal is $2.2 million.
This year’s municipal budget and capital improvement budget is $2.14 million, combined.
Gove said he plans to contact Budget Committee members to alert them to a meeting after the selectmen review the budget.
In other business, selectmen:
• Agreed to close the town office on Friday, June 17, and Monday, June 20, to allow staff to attend training by the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.
• Met with Fire Chief Ken Jones in an executive session on a personnel matter for 48 minutes but took no vote afterward, Gove said. He said he couldn’t comment on the executive session, only to say it was for a personnel issue.
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