Municipalities continue to meet for their annual town meetings. The following is a recap of some of those meetings within the Houlton Pioneer Times’ coverage area.
Small turnout in Patten
PATTEN — A group of 18 residents, including town officials and the moderator, whipped through a number of warrant articles Tuesday in short order. Voters approved a municipal budget of $775,278, which is an increase of $18,307 over last year.
According to Town Manager Terri Conklin, the town has a small increase in revenues to offset the jump in municipal appropriations. “We will have to wait and see what the school figures are before we can determine the 2014 mil rate,” she said.
Reginald Porter Sr. narrowly defeated Steve Yates for a three-year seat on the board of selectmen. Porter received 28 votes, while Yates received 27. Leslie Gardner ran unopposed for the RSU 50 school board. She received 51 votes.
Sherman OKs increase
SHERMAN — Only 26 residents attended the town meeting March 17 and approved an $803,623 municipal budget in about an hour, according to Town Manager Debbie O’Roak. The entire town meeting took about one hour.
The budget is up $27,000 from a year ago, primarily due to an increase in the highway account to repair several town roads.
Wade O’Roak was elected to a three-year seat on the town council with 31 votes, while Harold Gould won a one-year term with 28 votes. Both were incumbents. Philip Knowles was re-elected to the RSU 50 school board with 25 votes.
Stacyville conducts business
STACYVILLE — About 25 people came out to Stacyville’s town meeting March 17 and approved a $408,004 municipal budget. Town agent Dixie Sides said because of changes in revenue sharing and an abatement matter for the town, as well as the uncertainty surrounding the RSU 50 school budget, determining the tax impact the new budget will have is not possible at the present time.
Incumbent Leon Robinson was re-elected to the selectboard with 21 votes. All of the warrant articles passed.
New Limerick needs school board rep
NEW LIMERICK — A group of 15 residents spent little over an hour Monday evening approving a municipal budget in the amount of $330,647. That budget is up $19,087 over last year’s figure of $311,560. Town Manager Judy Nightingale said the municipal increase was due to a combination of factors, including the addition of extra hours of operation for the town office, as well as rises in fuel and electricity costs. The town office will now be open at 8 a.m. as opposed to 9 a.m.
Mark Stile was re-elected to the selectboard with 11 votes. There were no candidates for a vacant seat on the SAD 70 school board. There were no write-ins. Nightingale said the town has had trouble finding candidates to serve on the school board in recent years. The town has two seats, but only one has been filled for the past year.
“What that means is we are under-represented on the school board,” Nightingale said.
Selectman can appointment a person to the board, but that appointment is only good for one year. Darlene Theriault is the other New Limerick representative on the board. Any resident interested in filling the school board seat should contact the town office at 532-3303.
Oakfield approves decreased budget
OAKFIELD — Voters approved a $540,000 municipal budget during Oakfield’s town meeting March 17. The budget represents a decrease of about $3,000 over the previous year’s spending. Last year the budget was $543,301.
Town Manager Dale Morris said all of the warrant articles were approved during the meeting. The selectmen elected were Cathy Briggs, who received 103 votes from a total of 141 cast; Jim Sholler, 30; Gina Clark, seven and John Nadeau, one vote.
