NEW SHARON – Residents will head to Cape Cod Hill School Saturday, for the 2015 annual town meeting.
The town meeting begins at 9 a.m. on Saturday, March 7, in the school gymnasium. A town supper typically is held around noon. The 59-article warrant will elect a first selectman and other town positions, set the municipal budget and allow residents to decide if they want to switch to a referendum-style election system.
New Sharon conducts its elections at the town meeting, with residents nominated from the floor. Town positions up for reelection include first selectman, town clerk and tax collector, treasurer, road commissioner and one of the trustees of the water district. According to Town Clerk Susan Anneley, she intends to run for the town clerk and tax collector positions. Anneley said that she also believes that First Selectman Maynard Webster, Treasurer Bonnie Lehigh and Road Commissioner John Pond all intend to run for their respective positions.
This may be the last year that New Sharon nominates town officials from the floor, if a series of articles are approved at town meeting. Article 15 would institute the use of nomination papers for the selectmen and Mt. Blue Regional School District director positions, due at the Town Office at least 45 days prior to the election. Ensuing articles would have town officials, including the town clerk, tax collector, road commissioner and treasurer positions, filled through a similar process. Article 14 would have all referendum questions submitted by selectmen or citizen’s petition decided by a secret ballot.
Also appearing on the ballot are two ordinances. Article 21 would enact a “Minimum Lot Size” ordinance, while Article 22 would enact a “Recall of Elected Officials” ordinance.
The proposed Minimum Lot Size Ordinance can be seen here. It would effectively set minimum limits on the size of property that could be developed. A minimum of 20,000 square feet of lot area and 100 feet of road frontage would be required in portions of New Sharon served by municipal water, with lots beyond that area linked to a 40,000 square foot area and 150 feet of road frontage minimums. The ordinance would also include 10-foot and 20-foot setbacks from property lines and road frontage, respectively. Multiple buildings on one lot would need to be at least 20 feet apart.
Exceptions for back lots, special purpose buildings and outbuildings such as barns, sheds and garages would also exist, in some cases, and the Board of Appeals could grant variances under a variety of circumstances under the category of “undue hardship.”
The ordinance would be enforced by the Code Enforcement Officer, with potential fines accruing for each violation.
The proposed Recall Ordinance can be seen here. It would allow the recall of an elected official through a petition and special town meeting process, if that official were to indicted or convicted of a crime. At least 25 percent of the number of residents that voted in the last gubernatorial election would need to sign the petition for it to pass.
If all selectman recommendations and third-party requests are approved as listed in the warrant, the tax impact of the new municipal budget would be relatively flat. As recommended, the road construction and maintenance article is up $30,000 for paving compared to the current year’s budget. That increase, along with less funds to carry over from the previous year, would result taxpayers covering an additional $67,000.
However, town officials intend to counter the impact of the assessment on local taxes by recommending the use of $70,000 out of the town’s surplus account. That would result in a roughly flat budget, when compared against the various small increases and decreases throughout the town meeting warrant.
