OGUNQUIT — Voters in Ogunquit “displayed their confidence in the municipal budget” at the polls Tuesday, as Town Manager Thomas Fortier put it, passing an $8 million town budget with just one reduction.
Residents voted 277-187 against Article 46, which would have allowed the police department to purchase an all-terrain vehicle for $16,000. Residents did approve the purchase of an ATV for the fire department by a 246-208 vote.
Residents also supported several articles dedicated to funding capital improvement projects.
Articles 55-58, which designate about $270,000 to parking lot and road paving, all passed by a margin of at least 50 votes.
Article 59 passed by a 348-116 vote, allowing the town to spend up to $275,000 to repair the Footbridge Beach Bridge. That money will also be used to expand the Footbridge Beach Comfort Station, which includes bathrooms, on the beach side of the bridge.
The approved municipal budget translates an approximately 25 cent increase in the town’s mil rate, which is currently $7.76 per $1,000 of valuation. “Ogunquit enjoys one of the lowest mil rates in Maine,” Fortier said in an email Tuesday night.
Ogunquit voters were also faced with zoning questions at the polls Tuesday.
Article 12, which would have restored the definition of a driveway to serving no more than two lots, rather than two dwelling units, was shot down by a 346-167 vote.
In the town’s only contested candidate race, incumbents John Daley and Robert Winn Jr. beat out challenger Kenneth Walsh for the two available seats on the Board of Selectmen. Daley collected 282 votes, Winn 325 and Walsh 250. Daley and Winn will serve another three years on the board.
Winn told the Journal Tribune in a previous interview that he plans to “make the right choices to serve the town” and “keep things as transparent as possible.”
Fortier said 537 people voted in the election, which represents “the highest turnout in recent years” for a non-presidential election.
— Staff Writer Angelo J. Verzoni can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 329 or averzoni@journaltribune.com. Freelance Writer Nathan Lynch contributed to this report.
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