|Debra Smith, NGX|
At its rescheduled special meeting on Monday, the New Gloucester Board of Selectmen heard comments from a number of residents. They then breezed through a number of routine items, clarified the July 4th holiday schedule for various town departments, and approved reopening the fairgrounds, Rowe Station and playgrounds. Details about recreation areas will be forthcoming as the town office, parks & recreation and public works directors finalize plans.
The big agenda item was the town manager’s proposed revisions to the FY 21 budget, focused on restoring staffing that had been cut by the select board and budget committee. Brenda Fox-Howard explained the thinking, and the data, behind the proposed numbers. First, she and the board had heard from many New Gloucester residents who support staffing of town departments at current levels. Based on analysis of historical data and current receipts, Fox-Howard and finance director Lori-Anne Wilson determined that revenue projections were low by $166,087. Excise tax revenues had rebounded once the town office opened and are close to what was hoped for the year. In some areas, such as interest and EMS transport, revenues exceeded projections, and they added anticipated reimbursements from FEMA for Covid-related activities. The bottom line, the town manager noted, is that as of June 15, revenues are at 99.26% of projections, with two weeks to go til the end of the fiscal year. Responding to board member concerns about the possibility of state revenue sharing being lower this year, Fox-Howard explained that based on her research, she doesn’t believe that the impact will be as bad as some people think, and other towns are flat-budgeting, not cutting. Board chair Linda Chase stated that she and the town manager had discussed the importance of keeping a close eye on revenues and making adjustments should there be issues.
And on to the costs. The proposed budget revisions added $166,087 to the expense side budget, balancing with the increase in revenue projections. Some items were cut from public works supplies, and several positions increased or restored: a public works position at 40 hours, parks and recreation director restored at 36 hours, the planner’s time increased from half time to 36 hours, and the library assistant at 20 hours (down from 36), with library director at 36 hours (down from 40). All but the assistant librarian will receive benefits. The board voted 4 to 1 to accept the revisions, minus $500 for Halloween expenses. Tammy Donovan was opposed because the assistant librarian had not been restored to current level of 36 hours with benefits. The cost, she noted and Fox-Howard affirmed, would be about $27,000, which “won’t cost much per household and would still keep the mill rate below the current rate of 16.90.”
Finally, the board discussed and approved planned changes to the warrant, which will be voted by ballot on July 14th rather than at town meeting. Contentious items will be separated out as individual articles. Fox-Howard and Sharlene Myers, deputy elections clerk, will attend a webinar with the Maine Municipal Association on Wednesday before finalizing the warrant and ballot, and sending it to the printer.
At the end of the meeting, Linda Chase announced that there will be an information session about the budget and the ballot via Zoom on June 22nd at 7 pm. Community members are invited to send their questions in advance to Brenda Fox-Howard via email at townmanager@newgloucester.com. To register for the information session, email a request for Zoom log in credentials to Sharlene Myers at smyers@newgloucester.com
The video from this meeting will be posted under the Cable TV tab on the town website (see left-side navigation at the bottom).
