BOWDOINHAM

Residents of Bowdoinham will gather Wednesday evening at Town Hall for the annual town meeting. They will consider adopting a 2012- 13 municipal budget of $1,493,312 and vote on 33 article warrants.

The meeting is scheduled to start at 7 p.m.

The draft $1.49 million budget represents a $92,263 — or 6.6 percent — increase over the 2011-12 budget. Expense articles in the warrant have been jointly recommended by the Board of Selectmen and the Finance Advisory Committee.

Town Manager William Post said in May that $82,840 of the proposed increase derives from debt service on bonds approved at the 2011 town meeting — $900,000 to buy a new fire engine, pay for road construction projects and purchase a used plow truck. The debt service would increase 67 percent under this budget.

The proposed budget reflectsa2percentcost-of-living allowance recommended for municipal employees, a contracted salary increase for Post and an increase for the planning and development director. The latter will be funded, in part, through the tax increment financing budget and mostly through the planning and codes budget.

The School Administrative District 75 budget, which Bowdoinham shares with three other towns, is expected to trigger a projected increase of $104,038 (4.5 percent) for Bowdoinham. An increase of $3,774 or 0.9 percent in the town’s share of the Sagadahoc County budget is anticipated.

As proposed, the municipal, school and county budgets would raise Bowdoinham’s $14.80 property tax rate to an estimated $15.10 per $1,000 of assessed value — a 2 percent increase which calculates to $30 for a home valued at $100,000.

To help offset the increase in expenses, Article 19 on the town meeting warrant proposes taking $100,000 from the undesignated fund balance instead of the usual $25,000.

If the town takes $25,000 from the undesignated fund balance, the tax rate would rise to an estimated $15.43.

Article 4 is the capital improvement article and seeks to borrow up to $400,000 to fund two projects. The first involves borrowing $300,000 to $330,000, depending on paving costs, to pave two sections of Millay Road, generally from the Interstate 295 overpass to the town line with Bowdoin. Another $70,000 would be used to purchase a piece of equipment to plow and sand the sidewalks.

The administrative budget contains an increase of $8,520 (2.41 percent), essentially due to the increases in wages for the town manager, staff and associated benefits.

The town maintenance budget includes a proposed $5,000 increase to pay for painting the town hall.

The public works department budget contains an overall decrease of $3,374, in large part due to savings achieved by changing the department’s director position to a foreman position.

The contingency line reflects a decrease of $10,000 to $15,000 to separate contingency from the undesignated fund balance so the undesignated fund balance can be used as revenue.

The proposed solid waste and recycling budget contains an additional $5,471 to replace the fire alarm at the recycling barn, which will cost an estimated $6,000. Post said a recent public meeting regarding the future of the recycling barn and public works garage sent a “strong message” that townspeople want to maintain the recycling barn and either continue leasing it or purchase and repair the structure.

Article 2 asks townspeople to adopt amendments to the land use ordinance, which selectmen and the Planning Board recommend. The amendments are designed to specify dimensional requirements concerning variances; add authority to waive submission requirements for shoreland zoning, building permit, land use and all site plan review applications; specify the review process for site plan amendment applications; give the codes enforcement officer the authority to refer a Tier I application to the Planning Board for review; and includes fines for violations to cover the town’s enforcement costs.

ANNUAL TOWN
MEETING
7 P.M
WEDNESDAY
TOWN HALL