DIXFIELD – Residents legitimized the Water Advisory Committee and gave the thumbs up in support of the Police Department at the annual town meeting Thursday night.
Nearly 100 people turned out at Dirigo Middle School to act on 29 articles. During the first two hours, they had dealt with 10 of the articles.
The seven-person Water Advisory Committee had been appointed by selectmen last fall as an ad hoc committee. Thursday’s action authorized the establishment of a permanent committee, complete with bylaws.
Townspeople also elected the members to rotating three-year terms.
Selectmen Chairman Eugene Skibitsky said that although he admired the hard work of the committee, he believed the selectmen, who are also trustees of the Water Department, could attend to the duties.
“We follow the Public Utilities Commission. This committee would add another layer,” he said.
Sonya Fuller, a committee member, said the committee would stand by selectmen and work hand-in-hand with them.
“There are lead pipes that have to be replaced. The (committee) still has to go before the trustees for any approvals,” she said.
Former Selectman Hugh Daley questioned why all members must be water rate payers when about a third of the Water Department’s budget is paid by the town as a whole.
Norine Clarke, a Finance Committee member, said those who drink the water are the ones who care about the quality of the water.
“This (vote) is just a formality to legalize an exiting committee,” she said.
Elected were: Bill De Vries and Montell Kennedy for a year; Ralph Clarke and Anne Young for two years; and Richard Pierce, Brenda Turbide and Sonya Fuller for three years.
Prior to action on any of the money articles, residents by a secret ballot vote of 49-33 agreed to allow the municipal budget to exceed the figure established by state law by up to $104,712. Whether the approved budget surpassed the $1,690,758 figure established by the state was not known late Thursday.
Voters agreed to raise $186,299 for the Dixfield Police Department, up from $179,620 approved for the current fiscal year. They also gave the go-ahead for the department to buy a communication system that Chief Richard Pickett said would replace an antiquated records management system and which could be tied in with the Oxford County Sheriff’s Office. The $32,000 will come from an $11,000 homeland security grant and from surplus, unless a second grant comes through.
Also approved was $201,730 for the executive department, a increase of about $7,000 from the past year’s approved amount. Much of the increase is the result of a higher figure designated for a new town manager.
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