PITTSTON — For the first time since before the COVID-19 pandemic, residents of Pittston are to vote in person this week on a proposed municipal budget and other warrant articles at the annual Town Meeting.
The total proposed budget for this calendar year is $1,510,505, a 5.6% increase from last year’s $1,430,723.
The meeting is scheduled to begin at 9:45 a.m. Saturday, March 19, at Pittston-Randolph Consolidated School, 1023 Pittston School Street in Pittston.
Voters are to decide on 14 warrant articles, including two ordinances — an updated building code ordinance and a proposed medical marijuana ordinance.
Saturday’s town meeting will be the first time residents will gather and vote by a show of hands since before the pandemic.
“I’m looking forward to having a town meeting,” said Jean Ambrose, the select board chair. “It’s an old tradition and at some point, it might not happen. You get the feedback, why people agree or disagree, and it gives us another point of view. I like it. It helps us represent people.”
The amount of the budget to be raised by property taxes this year is $755,405, up 0.8% from last year’s $749,403 and the rest of the budget will be raised by excise tax. Last year, the town raised $681,320 in excise tax for the budget and is projected to raise $755,100 this year.
Ambrose said officials do not expect to increase the town’s property tax rate for 2022.
One of the largest increases in the proposed budget is for ambulance services. The town is proposing to spend $50,808 this year versus $29,490 last year.
“Gardiner Fire (Department) needs — and there is a real need for — another ambulance to handle calls coming in,” Ambrose said. “There is a $20,000 increase to help pay for personnel to man a third ambulance We feel it’s necessary. The fire chief and the citizens have seen the need, and we have to wait a longer period for an ambulance to come from Augusta.”
The largest expense is Article 2, which covers general administrative services for the town. Included in the article: The town’s three employees and their benefits, the fire chief, other support staff and the general funds to run the town.
Spending proposed in Article 2 totals $436,974, up almost 4.5% from last year’s $418,192. Ambrose said the increase is mostly attributable to inflation and rising costs related to health insurance.
Article 8 covers the town evaluation, which voters approved last year. It proposes $36,250 be put into a savings account to help with the cost of a townwide revaluation. Last year, the Select Board signed a $132,500 contract for the revaluation, to be paid through 2023, and put $60,000 into the account.
Some proposals call for no increase in spending, including Article 3 on solid waste disposal, $26,660; Article 6 on the Gardiner Public Library, $25,965; and Article 7 on the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Gardiner, $14,875.
Article 10 on fire protection services is proposed at $165,240, up almost 9.6% from $150,800 due to increases in operations, payroll, communications and dispatching services. It also includes $5,000 to be put into the Fire Department’s reserve savings account.
The updated and ordinances need be passed by voters before being adopted by the town.
Ambrose said the biggest change to the building code ordinance is updated language from when it was last updated about 30 years ago. She said the changes would put the ordinance more inline with the state’s coding terminology.
Ambrose said she has not heard much response to or feedback on the proposed medical marijuana ordinance.
“It’s probably going to be the most controversial thing,” she said, “but I haven’t heard too much from people yet.”
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