Monmouth voters in Tuesday’s election approved a tax break program that will be available to local farmers, along with a $3.16 million town budget that selectmen had recommended for next fiscal year.
Under the voluntary farming program, up to 3 percent of Monmouth’s taxable land could be eligible for a 75 percent tax refund over the next few years, as long as the land is used for farming and its owners commit to preserving it for 20 years.
After Winslow created such a program in 2016, Monmouth will be the second Maine town to do so.
Monmouth residents voted on those proposals on Tuesday, when the Town Meeting was held along with primary elections for state and federal candidates.
The farming program passed overwhelmingly in a 587-197 vote, according to unofficial results.
Residents also passed the $3.16 million budget, which is down $57,173, or 1.8 percent, from this year’s budget. That budget included an additional $16,000 to update the town’s comprehensive plan.
Other items that were approved included the borrowing of $990,000 for reconstruction on Gilman and Packard roads, and the raising of $90,000 to match a state grant to replace a 50-year-old culvert on Sanborn Road.
Residents did reject an item that would have taken $14,000 from the town’s surplus to install an electronic sign outside the Town Office on Main Street. The proposal also has failed in previous years.
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