North Yarmouth, which closed its Town Office to the public March 17, has indefinitely postponed its annual Town Meeting from its slated April 11 date. Alex Lear / The Forecaster
NORTH YARMOUTH — The coronavirus pandemic has forced Town Meeting to be postponed from April 11 to an undetermined date.
Finalization of the fiscal year 2021 budget, which is normally voted on by line item at the annual gathering, has also been delayed, according to Town Manager Rosemary Roy. State legislation passed as a reaction to the pandemic allows for the prior year’s municipal budget to be considered as a valid spending plan for the next year until a final budget can be adopted. The move prevents a town from having to hold a mass gathering in order to approve a new budget while the COVID-19 threat still looms.
That way, if the town hasn’t ratified a budget by June 30, the end of the current fiscal year, it can operate with fiscal year 2020 numbers. Town Meeting voters approved a $3.2 million budget last April.
“We’re just going to play (it) by ear, and when we feel secure enough to have (Town Meeting), we will, as soon as possible,” Roy said. The Town Meeting warrant must be posted one week in advance of the gathering.
The Select Board was in the final stages of its budget planning process early this month, but before holding Town Meeting the panel will “allow time to reconvene, to look at the budget one more time, before they come up with a final number,” Roy said.
North Yarmouth, meanwhile, will live stream meetings online using the platform Zoom, which allows residents to tune into North Yarmouth’s Town Hall Streams website and watch gatherings remotely. Members of the panel will connect from home.
The first of these meetings was held Tuesday, March 31. Residents can email questions or comments to Roy at manager@northyarmouth.org, or to her assistant, Draven Walker, at dwalker@northyarmouth.org. They can also call the Town Office at 829-3705 to submit questions or comments to staff. Written requests can additionally be submitted to Roy or the Select Board at the Town Office’s front door drop box.
These procedures are available before, during and after meetings. All communications require the person’s name and legal residence.
With the Town Office closed to the public during the pandemic, only half the staff is in the building.
“We’re alternating days,” Assistant Town Manager Debbie Grover said. “We’re still answering the telephone, answering emails, responding to them, directing them to the appropriate online service.”
A list of online services is posted at northyarmouth.org. Some operations are being done by mail or via the drop box, Grover said.
“For the most part, everybody’s understanding, and we’re just muddling through it to make the best of it,” she said.
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