NORWAY – Voters will be asked to restore $9,201 cut at annual town meeting in June to the Norway Memorial Library’s 2013-14 budget.
The Board of Selectmen voted Thursday night to hold a special town meeting at 7 p.m. Sept. 5 at the Town Office on Danforth Street to request the funds.
The move came after Town Manager David Holt discovered personnel at the library had set 10 furlough days for the fiscal year 2014, which began July 1, after annual town meeting voted to reduce their budget by $12,755.
Library Director Beth Kane told selectmen that the library, like all town departments, was asked to reduce its budget by 5 percent at annual town meeting to meet expected significant reductions in state aid. Of that amount, $9,201 came from personnel expenses.
Kane said to meet that impact she implemented furlough days for the five full-time employees and one part-time employee, rather than cut in other areas. The first furlough day was Monday when the library was shut down.
Although all town departments, except one, agreed to take a 5 percent cut to meet the expected state revenue cuts, most were restored at a special town meeting at the end of June.
At that meeting, voters agreed to add $213,062 to the 2013-14 municipal budget, the amount of state revenue sharing restored by the Legislature when it overrode Gov. Paul LePage’s state budget veto on June 27.
Voters also restored $12,000 from the Surplus Account to retain town office hours that were threatened, and another $2,000 to maintain the pay level of some town office employees and provide a slight increase for others.
The move to restore some of the smaller budget cuts made at the annual town meeting June 17 also came after the majority of voters rebuffed the recommendations of selectmen and the Budget Committee at the annual town meeting.
Voters approved $207,764 more than selectmen recommended and $166,566 more than the Budget Committee in the proposed budget to restore a full-time position in the Police Department, a full-time position in the Highway Department and create a full-time fire chief position.
Holt told selectmen Thursday night that somehow the library cuts went unnoticed and he felt responsible to correct the situation by bringing it to the attention of the board.
“I think we should be fair as we deal with the end of it,” he said.
ldixon@sunjournal.com
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