The Temple Town Office basement will be the site of the annual town meeting at 1 p.m. Saturday. Voters will decide on the proposed $606,318 municipal budget and elect a selectman for three years. Franklin Journal file photo
TEMPLE — Voters will elect a selectman and decide on a budget at the annual town meeting at 1 p.m. Saturday at the Town Office, 258 Temple Road.
Town officials are proposing a $606,318 budget, which is $19,899, or 3.4%, more than approved for 2021-22.
Most increases are due to inflation and rising costs of living, Tax Collector and Treasurer Sue Cantrell said Monday. She anticipates the higher budget will have a minimal impact on property taxes – perhaps an extra $25. She is hopeful the current tax rate of $19.25 will be the same for 2022-23.
She emphasized the municipal budget does not include assessments for the Regional School Unit 9 and Franklin County.
If approved by voters June 14, the $508,652 for Franklin County Adult Education and $39.99 million for RSU 9 will cost Temple taxpayers $468,337.58. It would be $15,456, or 3.41%, more than in 2021-22.
Larger changes include:
• $15,000 (15.79%) more for town charges, for a total of $110,000.
• $1,000 (25%) more for Maine Municipal Association membership dues and workers’ compensation, for a total of $5,000.
• $5,000 (33.33%) less for building maintenance, for a total of $10,000.
• $700 (58%) less for the village cemetery, for a total of $500.
An additional increase is for General Assistance. In 2021-22, the town did not appropriate any funds but used $1,121.18 left from the previous budget. For 2022-23, the town is asking for $2,500.
Selectman Tracy Dunham is running unopposed, though she said candidates are often identified on the floor of the meeting.
An RSU 9 director was supposed to be elected but Cantrell said the article was mistakenly left off the warrant.
“We never had this happen before,” she said. “Things were a little rough this year doing the town report.”
As a result, selectmen will appoint someone to serve until the 2023 election.
Dunham said the board hasn’t decided on who to appoint, but is considering Greg Kimber.
RSU 9 Director Betsey Hyde is not running after serving 12 years on the board. The town dedicated the town report to her to thank her for her work.
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.