The 2020 Edgecomb town meeting will be like no other in the town’s history. The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in Edgecomb’s annual May town meeting being first postponed, and later changed to a referendum town meeting. There will be no resident questions prior to voting on each of the 66 warrant articles. 

One thing remaining the same is the majority of taxpayer dollars will go toward  2020-21 educational spending. The Edgecomb School Committee is recommending a $3,312,286 budget which reflects a 1.4% increase, but does not request more local school funding. The recommended school budget seeks $875,114 funding to exceed the State’s Essential Programs and Services model. According to school officials, the additional funding would maintain student-teacher ratios, special education programming, extra-curricular and co-curricular programs, transportation costs and school building repairs and maintenance. 

Committee Chairman Tom Abello described the school budget as the first one in a decade which didn’t seek additional local taxpayer funds. “It's unheard of. And, Edgecomb is an outlier here when compared to the school budgets of other communities in the Lincoln County area,” he said. “The Edgecomb (Eddy) School consistently ranks among the top performing schools in the state. It is generally viewed as a bright star in terms of student performance and quality of education. Our focus has been to bring the most reasonable and balanced budget to the town. I believe we've done that.”

Local taxpayers would appropriate $1,794,692 for education spending and receive $421,423 as a state subsidy. Nineteen of the 66 warrant articles are related to the school budget. Article 65 would establish a capital reserve account to appropriate up to $250,000 from the unassigned fund balance. Article 66 would authorize the school committee to establish a non-lapsing emergency reserve account of $50,000 from the unassigned fund balance.

A review of the remaining 47 warrant articles shows a proposed $1,273,716 municipal budget. Article 20 requests $36,867 for volunteer firemen wages. The proposed figure includes an hourly wage increase  $13.50 to $15 per hour. Article 47 seeks voter approval to enact a fire and rescue cost recovery ordinance. The proposal would establish a procedure for recovering costs for emergency and non-emergency services performed by the Edgecomb Fire and Rescue Department. 

The referendum town meeting election will be held from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 29 at the town hall. Unlike past town meetings, absentee ballots and early voting are allowed. The ballot also includes municipal officer elections. Selectman Jack Sarmanian is unopposed and seeking a fifth term. Heather Sinclair is running unopposed for another school committee term. Claudia Coffin is seeking re-election to one-year terms as town clerk and treasurer. Interim tax collector Kim Batchelder is running as a write-in candidate for a one-year term, and Scott Griffin is running unopposed for another one-year term as road commissioner. Jack French is seeking a three-year term on the planning board and incumbent David Nutt is running as a write-in candidate.