SUMNER — Residents will vote at annual town meeting Aug. 10 on a $1.45 million 2013-2014 budget recommended by the Board of Selectmen and Budget Committee. 

The budget, although larger than last year, will not result in a tax increase, according to Town Clerk Susan Runes. 

Voters will also elect a selectman and a member of the RSU 10 School Board, both for three-year terms. 

The combination of $726,262 in payments to RSU 10 and $49,975 in Oxford County taxes makes up more than half of Sumner’s entire projected expenses. 

Taking the school and county taxes into account, the recommended budget is $11,872 larger than last year, but Runes said Friday that the Budget Committee and selectmen agreed to use revenue and money from the town’s general fund to offset the increase and prevent a tax hike.  

“We’re going to do what we need to do to make sure the mill rate stays the same,” Runes said. 

Appropriating $266,000 in revenue and $102,500 from the general fund is being recommended to offset the budget increase.

“We always take money from the general fund anyway. We’re just taking a little bit more this year,” she said. 

The Board of Selectmen and Budget Committee’s recommendation is $24,327 smaller than the expenses requested by the town’s departments and includes cuts from the 2012-2013 budget.

The lion’s share of the cuts is a $10,000 reduction for summer work on town roads and bridges, down to $150,000.

Spending reductions also include $3,045 less for social services, a $2,000 cut to the recreation department and the elimination of $1,500 in funding for emergency management, the total amount requested.

The selectmen and Budget Committee also recommend smaller cuts to accounts for discretionary funds, dues, legal fees, firefighters’ insurance, archival preservation, street signs and liens. 

The $7,400 recommendation for the general office account, however, is $400 more than last year and $100 more than the amount requested. 

The Fire Department’s training account is also being reduced by $1,000. Runes said the reduction was due to increased in-house training by the department. 

Residents will also decide whether to renew a waste-handling agreement with Mid-Maine Waste Action. According to the town meeting warrant, the agreement was initially approved in 1986. If renewed, the agreement will remain in effect until 2035. 

In municipal elections, former Selectman Clifford McNeil is running against incumbent board member Walter Litchfield. Incumbent RSU 10 board member John Phillips is being challenged by David Lynch for the RSU 10 board.

Road Commissioner James Keach is running unopposed for re-election. 

The elections will be conducted by secret ballot at the town meeting, Runes said. 

The meeting is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 10, at the Hartford-Sumner Elementary School. 

pmcguire@sunjournal.com

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