MONMOUTH – Voters will decide the fate of 32 warrant articles by secret ballot on June 14, in an election that replaces the traditional open town meeting.
Raging debates over spending articles and open-forum voting – a long-standing tradition in small-town Maine politics – is a relic of the past in Monmouth, at least for now.
In November, voters approved the controversial change to secret ballot voting, 1,356 to 816. However, several people at a recent public hearing asserted that some voters might not have understood what they were voting for. Some residents have called for a restoration of the traditional town meeting.
If voters reject any budget articles, there is a chance that one or more town departments could close on July 1, the date the next fiscal year begins. Town Manager Jason Simcock used the Fire Department as an example.
Passage of Article 29 could avert closure of town departments. If voters approve Article 29, any department budget that fails to pass in the election would operate on the previous fiscal year budget until voters approve a new budget article. If Article 29 fails, one or more departments could remain closed until the earliest date the town could hold a special election on the spending article. That would be 45 days after its rejection at the polls.
Schools are protected by a state statute that prohibits closure if spending articles are not approved, and it requires that the previous year’s budget remain in effect.
“The most controversial thing is the fact that they’re voting by secret ballot for the first time. It’s so new. We don’t know what the turnout will be,” Simcock said. “I think our numbers of voters will be higher than an open town meeting format.”
If there is one thing in all the controversy that might make people happy, it’s that little or no tax increase is likely. The proposed $2,781,362 municipal budget is 1.86 percent higher than the current budget. The town budget makes up just under 30 percent of the property tax, while school spending amounts to about 64 percent.
The total proposed school budget is $6,383,490, up 2.78 percent from $6,210,785 last year. The amount to be raised by taxation is $2,594,895, the same figure that was approved last year. Anticipated miscellaneous revenues are $85,000. Funding from the Maine Department of Education is $3,703,595, an increase of $215,107 over one year ago.
Simcock explained that variables that could affect the tax rate are increases in valuations and projected revenues, offset by about $140,000 in Homestead Exemption reimbursements that the town must come up with during the coming year.
The condition of the town garage continues to be an issue for employees and equipment. Currently, efforts are being made to research expanding the current facility, rather than building a new stand-alone public works building.
Polls will remain open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on June 14 at Cumston Hall. Voters may obtain ballots by calling the town office at 933-2206, or visiting during office hours.
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