Wiscasset Town Manager Dennis Simmons may have some help on time-consuming tasks that help him draft budgets. They and he talked July 18 about tasks such as finding out how much was spent on fuel last budget year or how much trash was transported. Things like going through invoices take a lot of time, Simmons said.

“So there might be some times if you guys have some availability, I might want to hand you something ...” And he said it could also help educate them on what the town does, and details of departments’ budgets.

Member Tom Joyce raised the idea based on the last budget committee’s discussions and some work he helped on that he said was not a lot, but helped him have fewer questions in budget talks. “At least I knew what some of these things were.” He added, it would help if Simmons asked for help when he wants it rather than their bugging him “with stuff you don’t want to be bugged with.”

Also July 18, Simmons voiced hope the selectboard will complete a 2023-24 budget proposal around mid-March. That is when it should be wrapped up, not coming down to the wire for the June town vote like this year’s proposal did, in part because prices kept rising, Simmons said.

Committee members were interested in being involved earlier on some things, to be effective and best use members’ capabilities. “But we don’t want to be in a position of pushing the selectmen to have a meeting on” one item or another, Joyce said.

Maybe if the budget committee had voted on the waterfront committee’s harbor expansion proposal before selectmen took it up, and if the budget committee had then presented its findings to selectmen, the item might not have gone on the June ballot, Dolce said. The budget committee opposed the proposal. It was the lone item voters rejected. Simmons said the vote showed the weight the budget committee carries with voters.

Members made Joyce chair and Dolce clerk.

View the meeting where Wiscasset Newspaper did, on the YouTube channel, “Wiscasset Town Office.”