The third Saturday of May in Edgecomb is traditionally time for the town meeting, but this spring the town is having an untraditional election. Selectmen opted for a town meeting referendum to decide the 42-article proposed $2,000,580 municipal budget reflecting an 11.77% increase.  Budget Committee Chairman Jack Brennan said this figure does not include school spending, county tax, or various offsets that will reduce this figure and local tax commitment. 

Residents will vote from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturday, May 20 by secret ballot referendum at the town hall. In recent years, a referendum vote was held due to an emergency health safety order created by the pandemic. Selectmen hoped the higher voting turnout in recent years would continue through the referendum process. Selectmen did not know, post-pandemic, education budgets still require a public vote. 

So the Edgecomb School Committee will hold its own budget meeting at 10 a.m.to decide the proposed $3,432,354 Fiscal Year 24 budget. Proposed educational spending would rise 10% and local assessment would increase by 17%, if the committee’s proposal receive voter approval.

In municipal elections, there is only one contested race. Two first-time selectmen candidates are vying for a three-year term. The candidates are Michael Maxim and Amy Winston. School Committee Chairman Heather Sinclair is running for another three-year term. There is no candidate for a three-year planning board term. Claudia Coffin is running for re-election as town clerk and treasurer. Rebecca Brewer is seeking another term as tax collector. Scott Griffin is seeking re-election as road commissioner. Town clerk, tax collector, treasurer and road commissioner are all one-year terms. 

The proposed general government budget is $201,850 reflecting a 14.4% increase. Town salaries increased 17% to $99,100. Town expenses are $90,000, up 12%. Planning board and ordinance review committee spending remains at $4,500. Cemetery funding increased 10% to $8,250.

Public safety spending has a proposed 25.68% increase to $350,108. The local emergency management agency budget remains at $700. The town’s contract with Central Lincoln County Ambulance is going from $17,000 to $58,925, a 246.6% rise. Fire department spending is $120,508 reflecting a 4.1% increase. The fire station payment to the tax increment finance district is $41,335. The fire truck loan payment is $52,547. The amount proposed to put into the fire truck reserve fund is $20,000. Fire department salaries are $56,093, a 43.55% increase.

Highways and bridges proposed spending is $850,865, a 7.4% raise. Paving is $260,000, a 23.8% increase. Snow and ice removal is $327,951, a 1.2% rise. The road project debt service payment remains at $199,323. Local road maintenance increases by 7.9% to $78,632. The town’s portion to Boothbay Region Refuse Disposal District is $164,946, up 6.98%. The county tax rose 4.6% to $360,977. Waterfront Committee is $5,741, a 97.96% increase. Proposed committee spending is as follows: harbor master stipend, $2,000; assistant harbor master stipend, $500; town share of Medicaid and social security, $191; and operational expenses, $$2,950.

Building maintenance remains at $8,000. General assistance remains at $2,500. Social service agencies decreased 23% to $4,355. The town is also recommending changing how social service agencies request a municipal contribution. Article 36 seeks voter authorization to use a form letter instead of the current agency petition to receive ballot access. The following agencies are seeking a municipal contribution: Spectrum Generations, $1,155. Healthy Kids, $2,000; and New Hope for Women, $1,200.   

The Schmid Preserve proposed budget increased 9.9% to $2,440. Midcoast Humane Shelter in Edgecomb’s proposal is up 8.7% to $4,313. Town officials are also recommending a $10,000 contribution to Edgecomb’s 250th celebration slated for 2024. Recommended library spending is up $500 to $7,000. Town officials recommend a $4,750 donation to Wiscasset Public Library and a $2,250 donation to Boothbay Harbor Memorial Library. 

Residents will consider whether to add boat excise receipts to the Woodend Fund for future public water access rather than the current policy of adding it into the Waterfront Committee Operating Fund. Article 42 seeks voter authorization allowing the harbor master to regulate marine activity within the tidal waters of Edgecomb to ensure safety to people and property, promote availability and use of valuable public resources, and create a fair and efficient framework for the administration of the same.

The school budget hearing has 21 articles. The moderator will be Melissa Whitt, a Boothbay Harbor lawyer. The proposed FY 24 budget recommends $3,432,354 in expenditures, $718,565 in revenues, using $150,000 from fund balance (surplus) with a $2,563,789 assessment. Selectmen and school officials agreed on 13 of 21 articles. 

The proposed budget is regular instruction, $2,039,145; special education, $567,891; other instruction, $2,800; students and staff support, $102,927; school administration, $199,618; transportation and buses, $82,507; facilities and maintenance, $266,042; other expenditures, $25,000. A warrant article on the state/local essential programming services formula for public education seeks authorization for appropriating $2,175,462 and raising $1,692,897.

Selectmen and the school committee disagreed over spending on systems administration. Selectmen believe proposed increases in hiring an outside accounting firm for the AOS 98 business office were too high. The school committee recommended $146,424 for systems administration. Selectmen countered with $130,235. 

Article 15 requires a written ballot. The article asks what sum the town will raise and appropriate in additional local funds. The school committee recommends $870,892. Selectmen recommend $854,703. The article offers an explanation for the committee’s recommendation. “The additional local funds are those locally raised over and above the town’s local contribution to the total cost of public education from kindergarten to grade 12 as described in the Essential Programs and Services Funding Act. Local amounts raised for the annual payment of non-state funded debt service will help achieve the town’s budget for educational programs.”

Selectmen recommended lower figures on Articles 15 and 16 due to the disagreement over systems administration funding. Article 16 is the total school budget summary. The committee recommends $3,432,354 and selectmen recommend $3,416,165.