CARY PLANTATION, Maine — Voters will decide Thursday if they wish to continue moving forward with plans to dissolve the town’s government.
The polls will be open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the SAD 70 Superintendent’s Office, 175 Hodgdon Mills Road.
A public hearing was held on the deorganization plan Sept. 14 with about 22 residents in attendance. No changes were made to the town’s plan at that time, Cary officials have stated.
For Cary Plantation, the decision to deorganize also has been motivated by tax reasons and an aging population in the community. Last year, the town successfully withdrew from SAD 70 and is now tuitioning its students to the Hodgdon school system. There are about 18 students who live in Cary.
One year ago, the state rejected Cary Plantation’s initial deorganization proposal, fearing a trend of more towns similar in size would wish to deorganize and hand control over to state and county official as a way to reduce tax burdens.
With 218 residents as of the 2010 Census, Cary would be one of the largest towns to dissolve if approved. Out of the 42 towns that have deorganized in the last century, few had more than 100 residents at the time. At least two exceptions were Benedicta, in 1987, and Madrid, in 2000.
