Wiscasset voters on May 31 will weigh proposed buys and projects one by one, instead of passing or rejecting an all-or-nothing package.

Bundling of the capital improvements into one item to vote on has proven controversial in the past. It can give selectmen leeway during the year, as items’ costs differ from initial projections. But opposition to some of the bundled items can scuttle all the funding requests.

A majority of selectmen on May 13 agreed with the budget committee to separate this year's items.

Reserve money funds the capital spending.

Budget Committee Chairman Bob Blagden expressed his frustration with the prospect of spending as much as $453,890 from the reserve fund to cover the items, the same year voters are being given a chance to tap the fund for up to $1.25 million to offset taxes.

“Why don't we take all the reserve money and buy everyone these toys,” Blagden said.

“Not everyone agrees that they're toys,” Interim Town Manager Don Gerrish said.

This year's proposed items include $150,000 to replace the roof of the Wiscasset Community Center; $40,000 for work on the municipal building's roof; $55,000 for a public works truck; and $10,000 for an electrical upgrade at the Main Street Pier.

The budget committee planned to meet at 6 p.m., Thursday, May 15, at the town office to finalize its budget recommendations that will appear on the town meeting warrant; plans called for selectmen to sign the warrant at their May 20 board meeting.

Disagreement over shellfish funding

If Wiscasset’s shellfish committee doesn’t have enough money to enforce town rules on clam-digging, diggers from other towns with closed flats will quickly harvest most of Wiscasset’s clams, the town’s shellfish warden, Jon Hentz, said.

The ordinance depends on enforcement, Hentz told Wiscasset selectmen and budget committee members on May 13.

Selectmen have supported the shellfish committee’s $10,630 request, to cover seed clams, enforcement and other costs; budget committee members have discussed a possible recommendation of $2,700, to come from sales of digging licenses. That would leave out funding from taxes, Budget Committee Chairman Bob Blagden said.

The lower amount would fall short of costs and risk a stop to the shellfish program, longtime Shellfish Committee member Dick Forrest said. He concurred with Hentz that the clam population would be greatly impacted if enforcement was cut, or seed clams stopped being added.

Budget committee members have called for the shellfish program to support itself, possibly through a hike in license costs. Member Neil Page said the diggers should put more time into conservation work.

“Clammers need to do more for themselves to keep this going,” he said.

Some diggers put in more than the required number of hours of conservation work, Forrest said. Wiscasset Middle School students also help, he said. Underfunding the program would impact about 60 to 70 people, counting the students and the families of about 12 Wiscasset residents who dig commercially, according to Hentz and Forrest.