NORWAY – It came as a surprise to the Budget Committee on Thursday night that Town Manager David Holt added a $1 million road bond and a $40,000 highway position to the town warrant, which has gone to print.
The news came as selectmen and the Budget Committee made a final review of their recommendations for the 2005-2006 budget during a public hearing at the selectmen’s meeting.
Holt stressed that the warrant, which is included in the town report, is not the official one. Selectmen may make changes to the initial one and distribute the official warrant at the town meeting.
He said he added the two articles without a recommendation because he “felt comfortable enough knowing the board that they would want those articles in there” and didn’t have time for a board vote before the warrant went to print.
Budget Committee member Shelley Cummings said the committee would probably meet again to make a recommendation on the two articles.
Selectman Russell Newcomb said selectmen could also vote on the articles before the town meeting so residents will have a recommendation when they vote.
Holt said, “If we invest in making roads better we can go further in our maintenance.”
He proposed a $1 million bond at an interest rate of 3.4 percent to 3.7 percent from the Maine Bond Bank. The money would be combined with any funds from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and annual road improvement funds. The bond would be paid over 10 years at about $117,000 to $137,000 per year.
Interest on the loan would cause taxes to increase about $52 per year for the owner of a home valued at $100,000. Holt pointed out that this is about the same as the cost of a carton of cigarettes.
Newcomb said that although the town has raised about $200,000 per year for capital road improvements in recent years, it is “steadily losing ground.”
The same sentiment was expressed in discussion of hiring another road crew member.
“Right now we’re about a month behind in everything we do because of the washouts,” Road Foreman James Tibbetts said. The Highway Department recently hired two part-timers, which Tibbetts said has allowed them to “finally get out there to do the work that needs to be done.”
If the road bond passes, Holt said improvement projects would be put out to bid. Maintenance would continue to be done by the town crew.
The total budget as recommended by selectmen is $6,538,356. The town expects $4.7 million in revenue to offset that amount.
Of the total budget, $200,000 is debt service, $215,000 is county tax, and $2.7 million goes to SAD 17. Holt pointed out, though, that the town’s share of the school budget may go up by $61,000 or $151,000, depending on whether supplemental articles are passed by voters.
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