Mount Vernon residents will decide Saturday whether the town will move forward with purchasing a new firetruck. That is one of the business items on the Town Meeting warrant that will be considered at 9 a.m. Saturday at the Mount Vernon Community Center.
The article asks voters whether they want the Board of Selectmen to continue work on a proposed $460,000 bond to fund the purchase of a new firetruck to replace a 1986 Ford pumper truck. The actual bond issue and purchase itself would be brought before voters at a special town meeting later in the summer, Chairman Clyde Dyar said.
Another proposal up for approval asks whether voters want to authorize two-year terms for the road commissioner, the tax collector, the town clerk and the treasurer.
Dyar said the same people continue to be elected to the posts, and this could save the town time and money, plus give the candidates incentive to run because they could be assured of having the job for two years rather than one.
Voters also will be asked to approve changes in the town’s Land Use Ordinance to bring it into compliance with state guidelines.
Susan Herman, chairman of the Ordinance Review Committee, said Wednesday that the changes allow for more flexibility in dealing with nonconforming structures in the shoreland zone.
Dyar said he anticipated 40 to 50 voters would attend the annual meeting, judging by attendance in previous years.
Mount Vernon spends more than $3.5 million a year to support the municipal and school budgets and the county tax levy, according to figures from Town Clerk Rachel Meader. The breakdown is 27 percent for municipal costs, 67 percent for schools and 6 percent for Kennebec County.
Dyar said the effect of approving everything at the Town Meeting, plus the cost of supporting the Regional School Unit 38 budget and the county tax would be likely to increase the town’s property tax rate.
It now stands at $15.20 for each $1,000 worth of valuation.
The Town Meeting warrant is available to read on the town’s website at www.mtvernonme.org/index.html.
Betty Adams — 621-5631
Twitter: @betadams
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