PHILLIPS — Town meeting voters on Saturday approved a municipal budget of nearly $1 million, defeated four articles and amended two.
The budget, which is $13,298 more than last year’s budget of $958,119, doesn’t include school and county assessments, Budget Committee Chairwoman Sylvia Lambert said.
Mike Ellis was elected moderator, Evelyn Wilbur was re-elected town clerk and Lincoln Haines was elected to a three-year term on the Board of Selectmen, getting 47 votes to Ray Gaudette’s 32. Danny Worcester was elected to a three-year term on the SAD 58 school board.
Several people voiced their discontent with Article 13, which sought authorization for town officers to pursue a Maine Department of Transportation Safe Routes to School grant of “around $300,000,” Town Manager Elaine Hubbard said.
But despite Hubbard’s claim that that’s all it asked, the article also sought authorization for town officers to spend the money should the grant be awarded, to improve pedestrian and bike safety and to promote economic development.
Under further questioning by resident Rick Rodgers, Hubbard said the grant would require a 20 percent match from Phillips taxpayers. But she said the town has $21,000 to use in a sidewalks account and could raise the other $40,000 in two fiscal years. None of that was in the article, however.
Resident Jon Wilbur said the current sidewalks “are horrible.” He said that if the town isn’t going to fix them, “let’s just rip them out.”
Rodgers amended the article, deleting the Safe Routes to School language and the authorization to spend grant funds if awarded. It was approved.
The discontent continued into Article 15, a proposed ordinance seeking to ban the discharge of firearms on town property.
First Selectman Lynn White defended it, saying the town has no liability insurance on the longtime shooting range on town property.
Worcester said the range at North Franklin Park has been in use since before 1940. He said the local sportsmen’s club has carried a $2 million liability insurance policy on the range in the town’s name since 1995.
White, however, said that isn’t any good because the sportsmen’s club changed its name to the Salem Gun Club, therefore negating the policy. Worcester and others vehemently argued otherwise.
The article was defeated to loud applause. After the meeting, White again stressed that the town doesn’t have any liability insurance policy on the range and could be bankrupted if an accident occurred and someone got shot.
Articles 20, 21 and 24, which sought authority for selectmen to sell certain properties, were also defeated.
Article 20 was to sell “The Old Firehouse” at 95 Main St., but to retain the land. However, town officials didn’t know whether Phillips has clear title to the land.
Article 21 was to sell the former Phillips Municipal Building at 22 Main St., and Article 24 was to sell any tax-acquired property.
Article 22, which sought to raise $1,000 for fireworks for the town’s Bicentennial Celebration in August, was amended to raise $3,000, and then approved.
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- Phillips Planning Board Chairman Kenneth Ziglar, left, answers a question from resident Rick Rodgers, standing at right, at town meeting Saturday.
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