LUDLOW, Maine — A small group of just six residents approved a $263,897 municipal budget for the town Monday, July 31.
According to Town Manager Diane Hines, the group spent just 45 minutes going over the 31 warrant articles.
“Even though turnout was low, it was a good cross-section of the voters in the community,” Hines said. “I think it is also a sign that people are pleased with the direction the town is going.”
The total municipal budget is an increase of $5,094 over last year’s spending plan.
Residents agreed to raise $15,000 for summer maintenance of town roads, which is a decrease of $10,000 from the previous year. However, a Designated Summer Road fund was added to this year’s budget, with $5,000 set aside for this account.
“We wanted to create an ongoing account to help put money away for summer road maintenance to help with the many roads that need work done to them,” Hines said.
That plan goes hand-in-hand with the vote in May 2016, where voters approved a loan in the amount of $400,000 for road work. The town did not budget very much for road maintenance in 2016, nor does it have an undesignated fund balance it can dip into for costly issues.
Many of the roads in Ludlow are gravel-based and have issues each spring during the winter run-off. Hines said the plan is to tackle fixing as many roads as the town can on a yearly basis. Work on the Hemore Road is expected to begin shortly, she added.
At the polls earlier in the day, only 12 ballots were cast for seats on the town’s board of selectmen. Incumbent Jeff Condon and newcomer Roxanne Bruce were both elected to three-year terms on the select board. Bruce takes over the seat previously held by Dana Miller, who retired.
