Edgecomb selectmen and budget committee members are slowly filling in the missing pieces of department budget requests for Fiscal Year 22. In a joint-meeting via Zoom conference on Feb. 22, selectmen and budget committee members agreed to set March 2 at 6 p.m. to review department head budget requests.  So far, the fire department remains the major department which hasn’t submitted all of their spending requests. Budget Committee Chairman Jack Brennan volunteered to contact Fire Chief Roy Potter by Feb. 26 for a response. “I’m expecting to hear from him this week, if I don’t, I will call him,” Brennan said. 

Stipend pay is one area of fire department spending selectmen and budget committee members want to examine. Both groups want more information regarding duties of fire department captains and lieutenants. “We’d like to see a definition for both positions, and see if there is enough work for either two or four positions,” Brennan said.

In August. voters approved last year’s $1,273,716 municipal budget and rejected four articles in the proposed $3,312,286 school budget which reflected a 1.4% increase. Later, the entire school budget was approved in a special town meeting referendum vote. This year, the school committee is proposing a $3,283,589 budget reflecting a 0.9% decrease in overall spending. Despite the proposed reduction,  local taxpayers would still see an increase if the budget is approved by voters. The local assessment increases from $2,569,806 in FY 21 to $2,632,378 in FY 22, which is a 2.4% rise. According to a school committee budget worksheet, the proposed budget would use $50,000 from surplus funds; last year, $200,000 was used. Edgecomb is receiving an 8.3% state subsidy increase. In FY 22, Edgecomb is receiving $456,211 for education funding.

The final municipal and school budgets will be decided via a referendum town meeting held on Saturday, May 22.