BUCKFIELD – The annual town meeting June 22 may be the last of its kind for this 212- year-old town if residents approve switching to voting on warrant articles by secret ballot at the polls.
The article is the result of a petition that cited benefits of allowing more people to vote at an all-day polling station or by absentee ballot.
A new building permit ordinance will also be considered. The proposed ordinance clarifies the number of buildings permitted on a single lot and specifies minimum lot sizes for principal dwellings or businesses, secondary dwellings, and multi-unit dwellings or businesses.
For the first time, a separate, secondary-dwelling unit could be constructed on a lot of 60,000 square feet or less. The proposal also would restore the Board of Appeals’ ability to grant waivers for more than 10 feet beyond the 25-foot setbacks. It also would make building permits good for three years, not five, but renewable with a fee.
The town’s share of the 2005 budget is $1,274,456, an increase of $257,521 over this year. The tax rate is estimated to be $20.35 per $1,000 of assessed value.
The largest increases in the budget are for hydrant rental, winter roads, solid waste, painting the Church on the Hill, and renovating the Zadoc Long Free Library with a handicap ramp and septic system.
The meeting begins at 7 p.m. Wednesday, June 22, at the Buckfield Junior-Senior High School Auditorium.
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