NORWAY — Town Manager Dennis Lajoie provided the Select Board with an early presentation of the proposed 2021-22 municipal budget at last week’s board meeting.
The budget, which still needs to go before the Budget Committee, contains a modest increase of 0.29%. It does not include the town’s share for Oxford County government and for School Administrative District 17, which have yet to be determined.
“The town manager and the department heads review every individual line item, and the budget being submitted reflects a shared vision for a responsible budget for the town of Norway to provide public services, be stewards of the town’s assets and to plan for the town’s future capital needs,” Lajoie said. “I believe the town has adequate staff to provide exceptional customer services to our residents and visitors.”
Highlights in the budget include:
• A 2.5% cost-of-living raise for nonunion staff.
• A 3.9% decrease for utilities because of the LED streetlight conversion, which is 95% complete.
• A 3.65% increase in revenue because of more state-revenue sharing and from surplus for tax relief.
• A 5.98% increase for general liability, property and vehicles insurances.
• A 7.63% increase, or $20,000, for Norway Paris Solid Waste. The entire town budget is increasing by $10,169.44.
The Select Board accepted $780 for the Police Department’s drug forfeiture account from a drug arrest.
A $100 donation was accepted from Paula and Kent Pruzan for the fire command vehicle.
The board also approved a request from Central Maine Power to erect a power pole on Gore Road and another on Pleasant Street.
In other business, the board agreed to a new contract with highway department workers, who are represented by the Teamsters. It also approved a construction over-limit permit with the Maine Department of Transportation for the Pleasant Street Bridge Replacement Project. The permit will protect the town from any damages occurred due to construction equipment and vehicles that exceed the legal weight limits.
The board also agreed to extend for one year the site control agreement with UGE USA Inc. for a community solar project at its landfill at 39 Brown St.
Shawn Brown, the superintendent of Norway Waste Management, and Lajoie updated the board on the highway garage project at the public works complex and future construction of the wastewater building.
Brown noted that construction costs are expected to increase 30% by July. Looking to lock in a price now, he plans to utilize Steel Smith, a company from Philadelphia, for the 50- by 80-foot steel building. The $124,639 price includes erecting the building and insulating the walls and roof.
The board said it made sense to lock in the price now before the expected price increase.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.