PHIPPSBURG — Three candidates for one seat on the three-person Phippsburg Board of Selectmen squared off Monday during a candidates forum in advance of Monday’s municipal election.

The contested seat is currently held by Board of Selectmen chairman Lawrence Pye, who is not seeking reelection.

During Monday’s forum, the three candidates — Robin L. Barton, Mark W. Hawkes and Julia M. House, née Totman — touched on their reasons for running, their hopes for the town and also met with more probing questions on historically sensitive issues, such funding for the town’s police department and financial support for Patten Free Library in Bath.

All candidates, however, lined up in agreement on those two matters.

Each candidate said he or she has no intention to make changes to any town staffing positions, including the police department, which has been led for the past 11 years by Police Chief John Skroski.

After all initially denied signing any previous petitions to alter or eliminate the police department, House said she had previously signed a petition to that effect.

“But that was a long time ago,” House said. “I no longer support the elimination of the police department.”

The candidates also agreed, to varying degrees, that funding for the Patten Free Library could be reduced while funding for Totman Library in Phippsburg could be increased.

This year’s town warrant seeks voter approval to give more than $35,000 to Patten Free Library, an increase of nearly $3,000 from last year’s appropriation of $32,748. That arrangement would allow all Phippsburg residents full access to Patten Free’s collection, programs and services.

“I don’t think we should give them that much,” Hawkes said. “Our library could be most everything that we would need. I would look at giving more (money) to our own.”

For the Totman library, town officials recommend that the voters approve a $28,512 appropriation for maintenance and operation and $5,000 to go to that library’s capital improvement reserve account, for a total appropriation to that library of $33,512. That same amount was requested and approved last year.

Barton, who said she volunteers at the Totman library, said she finds access to Patten Free Library useful for Phippsburg students attending middle or high school in Bath, but that if funding had to be cut from either library, she would take from the Patten Free budget first.

“I’m for keeping our library,” Barton said. “That should never be an issue.”

Candidates also were asked about their views on Phippsburg Elementary School and the town’s participation in Regional School Unit 1 in the face of increasing costs and declining enrollment.

Each of the candidates stated support for keeping the town’s elementary school open.

Regarding municipal contracts, Hawkes said he would support seeking bids for each job, including those that could be done by the road commissioner.

House raised doubts that every job — such as the town’s snowplow contract — would be large enough to earn many bids, and Barton said she has no problem with such contracts being awarded to the road commissioner without a bidding process if that person is able to do the job effectively and economically.

In response to an openended question, candidates also identified what they felt needed to be fixed and what was working well in Phippsburg.

House said she thinks town spending needs to be reined in; Barton said she sees no major problems with the way town government operates; and Hawkes said he feels strongly that appropriations for projects like road construction need to remain dedicated for that purpose until the project is complete.

For example, Hawkes said he would like to see improvements made to Sam Day Hill Road, where he said the road condition is “horrendous.”

As for the positive things about Phippsburg, Barton said she finds that all of the town’s officials care strongly about Phippsburg.

“I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else,” Barton said.

Hawkes said he sees the town’s fire department volunteers, paramedics, police department and natural features, including beaches and hiking trails, as strong assets.

House said she values the “small-town feel,” citing community support for a recent clean-up effort that she said brought out around 120 volunteers.

Generally, Barton said she would like to see residents more involved in the regular functions of town government.

“I’ve been to a few (Board of Selectmen) meetings and nobody comes,” Barton said. “I’d like to see more of the community involved.”

Barton, who said she has not been involved directly in town government in the past, said her jumping into the race comes from a desire to increase her own civic engagement.

In their opening remarks, both Hawkes and House pointed to their respective experience in town government as qualifications for the elected post.

Hawkes has served for several years on the town’s planning board, and House said she has worked in municipal government for six years, working for some of that time in the areas of property assessing and bookkeeping.

All three candidates are Phippsburg natives and expressed a desire to serve their hometown.

Residents Monday also heard from Road Commissioner R. Curtis Doughty, who is running uncontested for reelection, and from budget committee candidate Michael Rice. Budget committee write-in candidate Betsy Varian was not in attendance at Monday’s candidates night. Both budget committee hopefuls are running uncontested as two seats are open on that committee.

Voting for the town’s elected positions and for a new land-use ordinance will take place from 1:15 p.m. to 7 p.m. Monday at the town hall.

The town’s annual meeting will take place on Tuesday, May 1, starting at 6:30 p.m. at Phippsburg Elementary School. The deadline for acquiring absentee ballots to cast votes for that meeting is Wednesday at 5 p.m.

For more information about the town meeting, visit www.phippsburg.com.

dfishell@timesrecord.com