KINGFIELD — Voters approved a budget Saturday that includes proposed infrastructure improvements in the water system, roads and village area.

At the meeting in Kingfield Elementary School, voters re-elected selectmen Mervin Wilson for a three-year term. Wilson garnered 49 votes, defeating challenger Brad Orbeton, who received 31 votes.

“I’m very happy to be re-elected, because I think we’ve accomplished a lot in the last three years,” Wilson said. “We’ve made a lot of good changes in the way we run the town, and I think we’re on the right track.”

Most of the two hours of discussion concerned tax increment financing amounts and projects to be funded. Kingfield’s TIF is a state-approved public financing technique that allows the town to shelter Poland Spring tax dollars to subsidize redevelopment, infrastructure and other improvements.

Sheltering the tax dollars over 30 years allows the town to capture future gains in taxes to subsidize current improvements. The projects are designated within a defined area, called a TIF district. The TIF money may not go to lower property owners’ taxes or the town’s share of SAD 58 school district and Franklin County budget. Funds must be taken from the TIF account each year and deposited into these project accounts.

“We’re not really raising these taxes,” one resident noted. “You’re really just transferring the money.”

Selectmen and board chair Heather Moody replied that taxpayers must formally “raise and appropriate” the money, as defined in the state laws governing TIF funds. Another resident questioned the intended use of the money in reserves and if selectmen had decided on targeted projects, costs and completion dates. Moody explained that TIF moneys had to be deducted from the master account and put into reserve accounts, even if the projects had not yet been finalized.

Voters approved the 35 articles, including the controversial “declaration of slum and blight for the downtown Village area.” Several residents’ comments reflected concerns that the designation, which allows the town to apply for a Community Development Block Grant, would harm the town’s reputation as an attractive tourist destination or affect the value of real estate.

David Guernsey, who has chaired the Road Reconstruction Committee, suggested that since Madison, Skowhegan, Belfast, Winthrop, Rockland and several other towns had agreed to the designation and received grant money, that few people beyond voters in the audience were aware of the designation.

“Bureaucrats down in Washington took a perfectly good program and gave it this designation that makes it look like it’s something out of West Side Story,” he said. “If we don’t go through this process, we can’t even apply for the money,” he said.

Guernsey said the different types of funding would be “stitched together” in a long-range comprehensive plan, which also could provide seed money for other revenue sources. Village improvement projects will  require public input, he said. If the town wants to upgrade street lights, add crosswalks, sidewalks and curbs, voters could use TIF funds and grants to pay for those extras. Some funding will go into reserve accounts in preparation for a major main part of transportation reconstruction project through the center of town.

“The Maine DOT will pay for replacement of existing sidewalks and 80 percent for sidewalks new, for example,”  he said.

Although the construction date has not been finalized, MDOT engineers have said that the town’s project has been moved higher on the their list. The town should be ready with his reserve funds from the TIF program to absorb  extra costs. Selectmen Wilson explained that the town’s wastewater system also would need some significant repairs and upgrades, as would any other underground utilities involved in the road-building efforts.

Voters approved $222,000 for town administration in the next fiscal year, which starts on July 1, 2012. The Public Works, Wastewater, Transfer Station, Municipal Services, Animal Control and Fire Department budgets also were approved. The town’s total appropriation for all articles was
$716,460, which is approximately $3,100 more than last year’s request.

Selectmen took an informal poll of the audience, and nearly all attendees agreed to consider coming to a Monday evening town meeting, rather than a beautiful sunny Saturday morning in June. This year’s audience was nearly half the size of last year’s, and the consensus indicated a warm sunny Saturday outside was more tempting than the hard chairs and bleachers in the
gym. Moody also suggested that town reports may not be hand-delivered to citizens’ homes.

“I think we’re the only town left that does this,” she said. “It’s a lot of time, and people can still call us to get a copy delivered, but we’ll have them in public places, as well as the town office.”

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