PHILLIPS — The annual town meeting is scheduled for Thursday, June 17, at 6 p.m. It will be held at the Phillips Area Community Center.
For municipal offices, selectboard member Janet White’s position is up for election for a three year term. White finished the remainder of Nick Caton’s term after his resignation.
Both Nicole Norton and Lynette Abbott’s terms on the MSAD 58 School Board are expiring this year and those seats will need to be filled.
The town warrant suggests raising $1,252,376 for the fiscal year July 1, 2021 to June 30, 2022 for operating accounts. The budget that passed last year, excluding the school and county taxes and the contingency account, was $1,226,467. This year’s budget is a 1.07 percent increase over last year.
The COVID-19 restrictions slowed planned road maintenance projects. Overall, with a limited crew for much of the year, roadways were maintained well. The Town Manager reported that there was healthy Capital Road carry forward funds from the prior year.
The town was awarded a second $95,000.00 Water Bond Grant. This grant was used toward the Black Brook culvert replacement.
The Town Office has returned to Main Street, providing a more visible and convenient location. During the height of the pandemic the town office staff utilized the drop box to handle business transactions and town affairs. This service will continue to be provided for community members who prefer not to use mail options or visit in-person.
Among the 44 articles in the warrant, Article 18 asks if the town would like to enter into an agreement with Maine PERS to offer retirement for its full time employees and qualifying salaried personnel. It asks further if the town would pay their match out of undesignated funds.
Article 31 asks the townspeople if they want to pay from undesignated funds the sum of $19,950 to a General Contractor to have plans drawn up and coordinate subcontractor bids for a fire station to be located at 15 Russell Street at the former town office.
Should the prior article fail, Article 32 asks the town to authorize the selectmen to sell the former town office and accompanying property.
Both Article 31 and the sale of the building have a ‘No’ recommendation by the selectboard and the Budget Committee.
Article 33 concerns the Town of Phillips Solid Waste Ordinance. This, simply put, is an updated version of the ordinance that is in place with inclusions of Universal Waste handling and current recycling provisions. Copies of the ordinance are available at the town office for review.
The selectboard and town manager spent many hours tracking the status of the town’s street lights to upgrade them to LED. This transition to LED will save thousands of dollars. An estimate from early in the process reflects a savings annually of $4,105.39. A 15 year contract must be approved at town meeting to facilitate this change and save taxpayer dollars. Article 34 has a ‘Yes’ recommendation from the Board and the Budget Committee.
The Selectmen have included an article in the Town warrant this year to appropriate $125,000 from undesignated funds to be used for tax reduction. This type of article is not uncommon in surrounding communities.
Many of the articles in the town warrant are written in a format that requires the sum to be raised and appropriated to be specified in the motion. The sums recommended by the selectboard and the budget committee are included in the warrant.
Current Covid-19 guidelines will be followed at the Phillips Area Community Center for this meeting.
