WATERBORO, Maine — At 11:58 a.m. Saturday, all voting was complete. For 118 minutes, folks had spoken their mind on some town meeting warrant articles and stayed mum on others, preferring only to raise their red cards in favor or against.
Saturday was Waterboro’s last traditional Town Meeting, where folks gathered at Massabesic Middle School to vote on the annual budget. Just a few days before, folks had voted in a referendum to abolish the town meeting that has served the residents so well for many years — but not so well, folks said, in more recent years. With more than 5,000 registered voters, in more recent Town Meetings, Waterboro has been lucky to see 50 showed up for the traditional Saturday morning vote.
With Saturday being the final meeting of its sort, there was speculation there would be a large turnout. There wasn’t. In all, 47 registered voters attended — far fewer than the number who voted for the meeting tradition to continue just a few days before. In that vote, 365 people voted to abolish the traditional meeting, 256 voted to retain it.
“This is the last time we get together on a Saturday in June,” Board of Selectmen Chairman Dennis Abbott said. “It is with mixed emotions I see this tradition go away. But there are 5,000 registered voters, and the vote to abolish was carried by more people than who turned out.”
Among the voters in the audience Saturday were residents Joel and Marsha Plourde. “We’re interested in what’s going on,” Joel Plourde said.
Voters soon got down to the business of the morning, acting on Waterboro’s $5.98 million municipal budget for the year that begins July 1. Abbott pointed out that the budget is up is up $212,000 from the current year. The municipal budget is projected to increase the tax rate by about 8 cents. The figures do not include Waterboro’s contributions Regional School Unit 57.
“We continue to work to contain the budget as best we can,” Abbott said.
There were questions about the hiring of an assessor for two days per week at about the same rate as had been projected for a three-day-per-week assessor. Donna Berardi of the Budget Committee pointed out that having the assessing office staffed only two days per week would cause a backlog.
Town administrator Gary Lamb said the individual contracted to do the work for two days per week works for 10 other towns. He said her experience with the software Waterboro uses would be beneficial and that she is a very experienced assessor. “She didn’t have three days to give us,” he said.
Town meeting members handily passed the assessing portion of the budget.
Douglas Foglio, who retired a year ago from the part-time public works director job, balked at making the job full time, pointing out that the town charter said the move to 40 hours per week is to happen when the public works director assumes leadership over the transfer station. He pointed out the transfer station has a director.
Lamb and Abbott said the position needs to be full time. Lamb said public works is taking on more responsibilities with the town’s parks and playing fields, and the public works director meets with the transfer station director a couple of times per week.
Lamb said the day-to-day operation of the transfer station comes under the director, but the public works director’s involvement will be an administrative role.
“The charter is going on six years old now,” Selectman Dwayne Woodsomes said. “It’s time to put a full-time public works director in.”
After a lengthy debate, Robert Powers, who estimated he has served as town meeting moderator for about 30 years, asked whether there was further discussion.
“Seeing none, thank goodness,” he said to some mirth from the audience, the matter was put to a vote and the public works $1.28 million budget — with a full-time director, was approved.
Two people were recognized for their contributions to Waterboro during the session: Ruth Blake, who served a librarian for 24 years and who retired several months ago, and Jon Gale, who served as selectman for 12 years. Gale, who has also volunteered in various capacities in Waterboro for many years, decided not to seek re-election. Ted Doyle was elected Tuesday and will take up his duties July 1.
With the abolishment of the traditional town meeting, selectmen and the town administrator said much work would have to be done to inform voters before the next June election, when the budget will be presented in a referendum form.
When the business was done, the meeting adjourned.
“A referendum will be good, but I will miss town meeting,” Brenda Dyer, one of the 47 who attended, said. “Town meeting was the voice of the people. (It was) their chance.”