WOODLAND, Maine — Woodland residents will be able to vote on the town’s annual budget and elect new selectboard and school officials during the annual election and town meeting next week.
Voting will be open at the town office, located on 843 Woodland Center Road, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday, March 14. The annual town meeting will be held at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, March 15, in the Public Works Department, which shares a space with the town office.
Residents will be asked whether they want to approve the proposed 2022 budget, which totals $1,445,844. The total marks an increase of $240,028 over last year’s budget of $1,205,816.
The budget increase is attributed to a payment of $20,000 to the Maine Municipal Bond Bank for funds that will go toward road surfacing and reconstruction, according to tax collector and treasurer Amber Moutinho.
The bond payment is one of two non-budget-related articles that will be voted on during the town meeting. The other article asks voters if they will approve the closure of a 0.8-mile stretch of the Skidgel Road when public works crews plow during the winter.
Voters will also elect a new member to the town’s selectboard. Current member William Barnum has chosen not to run for reelection. His three-year term expires later this month. Only one resident, Timothy Browning, is officially on the ballot, Moutinho said.
School board member Robert Butler’s three-year term is also expiring, leaving one vacant seat. No one has submitted election papers to the town, so the vacancy will be filled through a write-in ballot.
