MONMOUTH – Voters will decide Tuesday whether to continue making Monmouth’s decisions in the ballot booth or to return to the group format of the annual town meeting.
If approved, Article Two of Tuesday’s ballot would turn the clock back by two years, prior to the fall 2004 referendum that jettisoned the traditional town meeting.
“Many people were confused by the original question,” said Diane MacDougall, the town clerk.
Some have complained that they intended to vote against the measure but were counted among its proponents. Others, including the chairwoman of the Board of Selectmen, say the question was clear and its effect has been mostly positive.
According to the clerk, the number of people participating in governmental decisions has jumped since the change.
About 150 attended 2004’s last annual town meeting. In 2005, for the first ballot-style decision, about 1,200 people participated.
“I think it’s wonderful,” Selectwoman Pauline McDougald. “People have expressed themselves.”
McDougald backs the system – because of the people it includes – but she misses the meetings, she said.
With a ballot, there’s no assurance that people understand the questions or even read them.
Clerk MacDougall said she doesn’t like the black-and-white nature of the ballot.
“It’s either yes or no,” she said. By contrast, town meeting warrants often change as voters contemplate the implications of the decisions.
Either way, decisions must be made.
This year’s ballot includes a proposal to boost school spending by more than $465,000, of which nearly $100,000 would come from property taxpayers, according to paperwork distributed at the town office.
The total school budget would reach almost $6.8 million. Most of the increase is due to added costs in salaries, benefits and utilities.
A substantial increase is also planned for the Police Department budget.
Last year, the department spent $134,000. This year, the budget is slated to reach $276,736, most of the increase related to salaries and wages.
“You’re starting a whole new department,” McDougald said.
A controversy in the department had led to the resignation of the chief and coverage of the town by the Kennebec County Sheriff’s Office. In March, however, residents voted to maintain the department.
Town officials are still working out what the likely tax rate would be if every article passes as recommended. McDougald hopes the mill rate of $24 per $1,000 of valuation will be unchanged or drop a little.
One unchanged figure is fire department’s. To keep costs down, the part-time firefighters volunteered go without a pay raise.
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