JAY – Voters approved amendments to three ordinances and an appropriation of $181,000 for Professional Services at a special town meeting Tuesday evening.
Amendments to the Shoreland Zoning, Sewer Use, and Recycling and Waste Disposal ordinances all passed. The Shoreland Zoning amendment, which incorporates Maine Department of Environmental Protection changes made in 2015, passed with 413 votes in favor and 376 opposed. The amendment to the Sewer Use ordinance, which added currently-used departmental policies into the 2010 ordinance, passed with 417 in favor and 359 opposed. The amendment to the Recycling and Waste Disposal ordinance, which generally mirrors the town’s current practices, passed with 452 in favor and 337 opposed.
At the annual town meeting vote in April, voters rejected one of the municipal budget’s cost centers, Professional Services, with 213 votes in favor and 262 votes opposed. That article, originally purposed at $201,215, funds a number of legal, assessing and auditing services, as well as certain outside organizations that provide assistance to the town, such as Maine Municipal Association, the Androscoggin Valley Council of Governments and the Franklin County Animal Shelter.
At a meeting on April 30, both the Board of Selectpersons and the Budget Committee supported reducing the Valuation Reserve appropriation from $50,000 down to $30,000, resulting in a new budget of $181,215 budget for Professional Services. That reserve account currently contains $110,000.
The new Professional Services cost center passed with 448 votes in favor and 373 opposed.
The total municipal budget is $6.16 million, an increase of roughly $36,000 in expenditures as compared to the current fiscal year. Revenues are projected to increase to $1.77 million, resulting in $4.44 million in net expenditures or a reduction of roughly $100,000. Included in the budget is the final $1.33 million settlement payment to Verso Corporation.
