WOODLAND, Maine — Woodland Select Board members presented a proposed budget to residents Wednesday but indicated that some adjustments might be needed before the annual town meeting in June.
If passed as presented, the town’s budget would total $2.12 million, a decrease from the $2.13 million total that voters approved in 2023.
Major expenditures include public works at $742,600, up from $754,450 last year; general government at $141,500, up from $139,700; code enforcement at $1,700, up from $1,500; municipal building at $53,200, down from $61,500; Woodland’s county tax bill at $111,564, up from $108,296; and the town’s annual bill to Caribou Fire & Ambulance, remaining flat at $152,125.
Resident Lorraine Chamberlain questioned why the town’s social services contributions were projected to increase from $3,755 to $5,670, when most residents voted last year to cut in those areas.
The Select Board proposed allocating the following amounts to area nonprofits and social service organizations: $485 tp Aroostook County Action Program; $350 to American Red Cross; $150 to Aroostook Agency on Aging; $250 to Central Aroostook Soil & Water Conservation District; $200 to Caribou Emergency Management; $100 to Healthy Families Aroostook; $100 to Maine Veterans’ Cemetery; $2,305 to Sister Mary O’Donnell Homeless Shelter; $100 to Catholic Charities of Maine; $280 to Woodland Cemetery Association; $1,100 to Woodland Historical Society; and $250 to Woodland Ski Trail.
Residents will vote on both the town and school budgets Wednesday, June 12 at 6 p.m. at Woodland Consolidated School.
On June 11, residents can vote for new members of the Woodland Select Board and Woodland School Board. Voting will take place at the town garage at 843 Woodland Center Road from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Chris Fournier, Robert Butler and Daniel Molaver are running for a three-year term on the Select Board to replace Drew, whose term expires this year.
Emily Robertson, Ethan Rossignol and incumbent Ashley Brydon are running for two open seats on the Woodland school committee. Both seats are for three-year terms.
Residents with absentee ballots can return their ballots to the town office no later than Thursday, June 6, said Town Clerk Bridget Coats.
