KINGFIELD — Voters will go to the polls June 2 to elect selectmen and directors for Maine School Administrative District 58, followed by the annual Town Meeting on June 3 to decide on a nearly $1.7 million budget.
Polls will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. at Webster Hall. The town meeting will be held at 9 a.m. at the Kingfield Elementary School.
Selectman Wade Browne is running unopposed for a three-year term. Selectman Polly MacMichael and Kimberly Jordan are vying for a three-year term on the Select Board.
Jordan is not seeking reelection to the MSAD 58 board, Administrative Assistant Leanna Targett said.
School board Director Mary Nadine is running unopposed for another three-year term. No one took out papers for a second director’s seat, which could be filled by a write-in candidate.
The total overall budget is an increase of $146,465, or less than 1%, from this fiscal year, which ends June 30, Targett said. There is also a warrant article on a $6,000 request from Maine’s Northwestern Mountains. Selectmen recommend $2,000 and the Budget Committee recommends $3,000, she said.
A variety of factors have contributed to the budget increase, including more hours for code enforcement at the Public Works Department. A part-time position is requested for that department for the latter.
There is a need for self-contained breathing apparatus for the Fire Department. That amount is $65,000, but $30,000 of it will come from the town’s $102,989 allotment from the American Rescue Plan Act, Targett said.
Other contributors to the budget increase are rising hauling and tipping fees for the Transfer Station, fuel, and cost-of-living increases.
“A lot of the utilities reflect an increase of 10%,” she said.
Selectmen voted May 15 to appoint Targett town manager, effective June 3. The appointment is for three years.
Targett has worked for the town for 17 years, 11 of it as administrative assistant.
Residents voted 70-60 in January to change to a town manager style of government rather than have an administrative assistant.
State law requires a town manager plan to be adopted by voters at least 90 days before the annual meeting. The adoption means the town has a Select Board, town meeting and town manager for governing.
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