TOWN MEETINGS:

GOVERNMENT AT A GLANCE

Special to the Sun Journal

LOVELL

Voters face budget decrease

If all 97 articles pass at Saturday’s annual town meeting, voters will be looking at a budget nearly a $40,000 lower than this year’s spending. The $811,779.71 proposed for 2007 is down from $850,411 last year.

Among action voters face:

• Nominate and elect one selectman for three years.

• Nominate and elect a building inspector.

• Recommend that selectmen appoint a code enforcement officer for about $13,000 in compensation.

• Nominate one Planning Board member for five years and two associate members for one year.

• Nominate and elect two members to serve for seven years on the Budget Committee.

• Nominate and elect one alternate to the SAD 72 board for one year.

• Vote to purchase a new pubic works truck for $140,000.

• To see if the town will authorize selectmen to negotiate and enter into an agreement with the towns of Chatham, N.H., and Stow to offer Lovell’s Transfer Station and dump sites for Chatham’s and Stow’s shared use for up to five years. Terms of $10,000 one time, up front fee and $15,000 per year.

• To see if the town will enact an ordinance to prevent people from power loading their boats from the lake to their trailers.

• To see if the town will vote to fix a date when taxes become due and after 60 days, a maximum of 12 percent interest will be charged.

CANTON

Town looking to borrow $1M

Article five on the March 10 town meeting will ask voters if they will authorize municipal officers to borrow $1 million from Maine State Housing Authority. The loan will be used to acquire five parcels of land and to cover predevelopment and development costs for the designed Village Center. The center is being developed to help relocate residents displaced by the flood of December 2004.

Other articles of interest:

• To see if the town will accept federal funds for the removal of asbestos and the demolition of the Canton Elementary School.

• To see if the town will approve the purchase of a new highway plow truck.

• To see if the town will close a portion of Meadow View Road to winter maintenance.

On referendum ballots to be voted on March 9, voters will be asked to choose two selectmen. There are three names on the ballot: incumbents Lisa Cummings and Donald Hutchins III and Brian Jordan.

Donald Adams and Richard McCollister are running for the two seats on the planning Board.

Deborah Hutchins, Carl Leuders and Benjamin McCollister are running for two seats on the SAD 21 board.

The 2007 budget of $423,949 is approximately $15,794 less than 2006.

– Mary Standard