NORWAY — Residents will have back-to-back town meetings to attend on Monday, June 20.

A special town meeting to approve a transportation feasibility study will immediately follow the annual Town Meeting, when residents will vote on the municipal budget for the 2022-23 fiscal year.

The annual meeting is set for 7 p.m. at Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School in Paris.

Residents will vote on 35 articles Monday, which include the proposed $5.1 million municipal budget that will begin July 1. The proposed budget features a 3% increase, mostly due to increased energy costs, health insurance, some wage increases and the overlap of department heads salaries later this year with the impending retirements of the police chief, fire chief and the town manager.

The budget includes $542,000 for capital projects, with $300,000 designated for road improvements, which is the same amount appropriated last year. The remainder is designated for future projects and purchases, such as plow truck, fire truck and an eventual revaluation.

The budgetary request for capital projects is $125,175 less than last year since it does not include funding for the highway and town office project, which is currently on hold.

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The utilities account is also lower than last year due to the installation of LED lights in town parking lots, which lowered the budgeted amount by $1,655.

The largest increase is for debt service. That account now includes the first payment for the new highway garage.

The town has also proposed taking $70,000 from the income of the Fred and Laura Sanborn Trust Fund to fund part of the recreation budget, as well as donations to the Norway Historical Society, Norway Downtown and the Oxford Hills Chamber of Commerce. The trust fund has a balance of nearly $1.7 million.

No ordinance changes are on the warrant.

The special town meeting, which will begin immediately after the annual meeting, will ask residents to approve spending up to $70,000 from the undesignated unrestricted fund balance “to partner with the Maine Department of Transportation to cover the match requirement of conducting a feasibility study to identify ways to improve accessibility and safety for all transportation modes while complimenting economic development.”

Among the potential projects are replacing water and sewer lines and relocation of power lines on Main Street as well as sidewalk improvements and parking alternatives, while improving safety and accessibility.

The opportunity to partner with Maine DOT and share the cost to study its transportation needs came after the original warrant was adopted, prompting the need for the separate town meeting.


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