JAY – In addition to the Republican and Democratic primaries and a people’s veto relating to ranked choice voting, residents will vote on four local issues on June 12.
Polls will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, June 12, at the Community Building. Towns across the state will be opening their polls Tuesday so residents can cast ballots for the primaries, as well as a people’s veto referendum question that would reject a new law that would delay the implementation of ranked choice voting until 2021.
Jay will be taking opportunity of the state-wide vote to allow residents to weigh in on proposed amendments to three ordinances, as well as passing a Professional Services budget for the 2018-19 fiscal year.
In April, the board approved certifications for a June vote on amending the Shoreland Zoning, Sewer Use, and Recycling and Waste Disposal ordinances. The Shoreland Zoning changes will align that 2009 ordinance with Maine Department of Environmental Protection changes made in 2015. While those changes were not mandatory, the DEP has recommended they be adopted by Maine towns.
Another change to Shoreland Zoning, separate from the DEP adjustments, adds criteria for Parker Pond to receive the resource protection designation. The pond, which can serve as a source of drinking water, was previously included on the resource protection map but did not meet the ordinance’s criteria. The town previously consulted with DEP, the water districts, the Androscoggin Valley Council of Governments and held meetings on the subject.
The amended Sewer Use ordinance would include some operational changes, adding currently-used departmental policies into the 2010 ordinance. The updated ordinance also incorporates the abatement process and some of the special circumstances that can impact sewer fee billing.
The amended Recycling and Waste Disposal ordinance was discussed in late 2017. It effectively mirrors the town’s current practices, limiting curbside pickup to apartment buildings with five or fewer dwelling units, as well as not picking up trash from hotels, restaurants, warehouses, grocery stores, industrial sites, the school district or medical facilities.
The amended ordinance would also eliminate the clear bag requirement for trash – Jay has not enforced that requirement ever since it stopped selling clear bags. While the initiative was designed to improve recycling rates by allowing easy visual inspection of trash, what instead happened was that non-transparent bags left on the curb simply became a nuisance. Town officials were typically contacted when that occurred, followed by the police. In the end, bags generally had to be hauled off anyway.
The ordinance does allow the board to reinstate clear bag requirements in the future. Recyclables in Jay are processed by single-sort and therefore no bag is used at all – recyclables are left in a bin by the curb.
The ordinance also eliminates mention to household hazardous wastes that aren’t accepted at the transfer station: paint, paint thinners, bleach and other cleaning products.
Copies of the ordinances, with the proposed changes, can be seen here.
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 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.
