WOOLWICH

Following a contentious year with Pay As You Throw, Woolwich voters have finally put the pay-per-bag issue to bed — at least for a year.

With more than 300 Woolwich residents in attendance at Town Meeting on Saturday, voters once again turned down a pay-per-bag trash program with a 196-124 secret ballot vote.

Prior to voting, residents had requested to move up the discussion on the warrant agenda as the topic was expected to generate some debate.

PAYT has caused some tension throughout the year since last year’s Town Meeting when the program, which requires residents to buy town-issued trash bags to dispose of waste, was approved by voters.

The program was rather short-lived, as a petition calling for a referendum vote was submitted in September. Residents repealed the program in November with a 616-453 vote.

By March, a separate petition was circulated and submitted by resident Ben Tipton, asking residents to consider returning to a pay-per-bag program at Town Meeting.

“We had a program that would have been the largest tax reduction in the history of our town, and we voted it out,” he said, addressing residents on Saturday. “We currently bury in a landfill or burn with projections between $50,000 and $80,000 a year, and I would much rather see that money used to fund our roads, our fire department or provide a tax relief to our citizens.”

However, others disagreed, including Buzz Johnson who felt that the topic was redundant and reflected “a ruling gentry class that pushes things against the will of their constituents.”

“We made our voices heard on the ballot overwhelmingly saying no to this, yet here we are again,” he said.

Johnson also took issue with the price of the town-issued bags, noting that “for those of us living paycheck to paycheck, it’s a huge deal.”

Following the vote, Chairman David King noted that the selectboard would not be entertaining any petitions surrounding the issue for one year.

Aside from the pay-per-bag article, residents also voted down an article that would require local write-in candidates to file their candidacy with the town clerk at least 45 days before an election.

King noted that it was an attempt to make “our local candidate law consistent with the state law,” and to eliminate counting write-in candidates like Richard Nixon or Mickey Mouse.

Residents were concerned that last-minute candidates would not be able to be considered under this article, some expressing that “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

All other articles were approved, including funding for Patten Free Library, as residents voted to appropriate a little more than $52,000 in funds to support operating costs of the Bath library with a 154-66 secret ballot vote after some discussion.

Following the meeting, Selectman Jason Shaw said he was pleased with the turnout and the discussions that had occurred, noting that he and others on the board believe “the purest form of government is Town Meeting.”

“It gives us guidance, and the guidance we get is from the people and they run the town,” he said.

dkim@timesrecord.com

In other articles

• RESIDENTS VOTED down a proposal that would require local write-in candidates to file their candidacy with the town clerk at least 45 days before an election.

• RESIDENTS APPROVED funding for Patten Free Library, as they voted to appropriate a little more than $52,000 in funds to support operating costs of the Bath library.