WISCASSET — Wiscasset voters approved a $5.8 million municipal budget and elected two new selectmen and re-elected one incumbent during the annual town meeting Tuesday.
Although the 2020-2021 municipal budget is 2.3% higher than last year’s, town officials don’t yet know how the increase will impact the tax rate because “we don’t know the town’s valuation yet,” said Kathy Onorato, Wiscasset administrative assistant.
That information will be presented to the board of selectmen on Tuesday.
Onorato said she doesn’t expect Wiscasset’s current tax rate of $19.90 per $1,000 of valuation will change because “the budget was pretty flat this year and selectmen will most likely use [left over] fund balances to keep it flat if they need to.”
The $132,444 budget increase was largely driven by $43,008 and $39,000 increases to the emergency medical services and parks and creation departments, respectively. Town Manager Dennis Simmons said the increases stemmed from salary increases in both departments.
Voters also approved a nearly $22,000 increase to the administrative department to cover insurance and other benefits for Simmons. He said the former town manager, John O’Connell, did not receive benefits because he worked part-time before he retired earlier this year.
Other large purchases from the town, including a $200,000 ambulance and $175,000 plow truck, were paid for by capital reserve accounts and do not impact taxes, according to Onorato.
The town also previously approved a collective $48,000 for the planning department to update the town’s comprehensive plan, but the coronavirus pandemic stopped that from happening, according to Simmons. He said the town hopes to make those updates next year with the saved funding.
Board of Selectmen turnover
Voters elected Sarah Whitfield and Pam Dunning to replace Select Board Chair Juby Colby, who did not run for re-election, and Vice Chair Benjamin Rines, who was not re-elected.
Wiscasset voters elected Sarah Whitfield to the Board or Selectmen Tuesday. Photo courtesy of Sarah Whitfield
Whitfield, 33, grew up in Wiscasset and previously served on the Wiscasset School Board for four years. She said she wanted to join the Board of Selectmen to help Wiscasset become an attractive place for young families to settle.
“While we have a lot of retirees, and that’s not a bad thing … but we need more young professionals to either stay or move back to Maine if we want Maine to have a thriving economy,” she said. “I’m part of the next generation that needs to steward that.”
Whitfield returned to Maine after living in Washington DC and realized Wiscasset has the potential to grow in the coming years, but town officials have to put in a little work in order to make that happen.
She said one thing she’s interested in doing is hiring an economic development specialist to take a closer look at how the town looks to people who may be interested in moving somewhere new.
“We need to be thinking about how we’re perceived and making all the little changes we can to make this an appealing place to live,” she said. “Whether that’s making aesthetic improvements to the downtown or looking at how well our schools are doing.”
Even small changes like ensuring town meetings happen at a time when people who work a typical 9-to5 job. For example, she said the board of selectmen meeting time was recently changed from 6 p.m. to 5 p.m., but she wants to revert that so more people, including herself, don’t have to leave work early to participate in their local town government.
“Looking at those small things make a big difference for people who might want to move here or open businesses here,” she said.
Pam Dunning was elected to the Wiscasset Board of Selectmen on Tuesday. She previously served on the board for six years, but stepped down in 2015. Photo courtesy of Pam Dunning
Voters also elected Wisscasset Public Library Director Pamela Dunning, who previously served on the board of selectmen for six years. She said she wanted to rejoin the board because she wanted to bring her passion for public service to the board after stepping down in 2015.
Dunning said she isn’t rejoining the board with “an agenda of things to fix,” but she’s ready to listen to other town officials and Wiscasset residents to hear what they need because “You cannot work for the people without listening to them.”
Dunning added her first priority is to speak with Simmons, who was elected to replace O’Connell earlier this year, to “see what he thinks the town needs.”
In the coming months, she said the board’s priority should be looking at how the town can re-stimulate the local economy after the coronavirus pandemic caused widespread shutdowns and layoffs.
“That’s probably the biggest thing Wiscasset and the entire country is facing,” said Dunning. “I’m hoping that we’ll find ways to encourage growth in Maine in the coming years.”
Kim Andersson was also re-elected to the Board of Selectmen on Tuesday. She could not be reached for comment Wednesday.
Comments are not available on this story.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
