FRYEBURG – Residents approved all but about $92,000 of a proposed $2.87 million budget at Saturday’s town meeting. The 130 voters present spent the bulk of the four-hour meeting discussing changes to the way the town is run, approving many town departments’ budgets with no discussion.
The article that generated the most debate would have changed the Planning Board from an appointed to an elected group. The issue was brought before the town by a citizens’ petition, said Hannah Warren, a Planning Board member whose term expires in 2006. Warren explained that as appointed officials, “the Planning Board does not have any accountability to the citizens of this town.”
Resident Dick Krasker made the case for appointing officials to the laughter and applause of many. “Here’s an example of the great enthusiasm of this community for running for public office,” he exclaimed, holding up a copy of the town’s 2006 ballot, which had only three residents running for four available positions.
After a lengthy discussion, 106 of 118 voters agreed with Krasker’s advice to “let the selectmen do the good job they’ve been doing.” Seats on the Planning Board will continue to be appointed.
In the spirit of allowing business to continue as usual, voters denied a request from selectmen for $10,000 for a contingency fund. Selectman David Knapp explained that the fund would have allowed money to be used for unforeseen projects like repairs made to the furnace at the American Legion Hall in 2005 without holding a special town meeting.
The largest single expense on the proposed budget was approved with little discussion. Townspeople authorized officials to borrow $619,000 for repairs to the 2.8 mile Haleytown Road. At the suggestion of resident Peter Hastings, the article was amended to require that the loan be repaid over 10 years, instead of 20. A 20-year loan was estimated to cost $942,605 including interest. Hastings claimed that the amount could probably be cut by two-thirds if the town took a 10-year loan instead.
Knapp described the project as “simply the first road we’re going to have to attack like this,” adding that, “Every road’s got a number” and will be repaired in time. Selectmen have not yet “gone out to shop for the money,” he said.
The tax commitment will be reduced by $1.3 million in estimated revenues.
After returning from a lunch break, townspeople observed a moment of silence for Corey A. Dan, the U.S. Army soldier from Norway whose funeral was held Saturday in Paris.
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