SABATTUS — Town officials had hoped that holding the annual town meeting during the workweek would result in more bodies in more chairs.
“Looks like it worked,” Sabattus Town Manager Andrew Gilmore said as he looked over the crowd at the Thursday night meeting.
By 5:30 p.m., the parking lot outside the town hall was filling up. Fifteen minutes later, a town official noted that there were 47 people occupying seats. Then, a group of three walked in with a group of four behind them. By the time the meeting got underway at 6 p.m., it was standing room only, with close to 100 people waiting to conduct town business.
The final tally: 92 people in attendance, more than double the town’s five-year average.
“Let’s have a good meeting,” said State Rep. Steve Wood, a resident of Sabattus. “Let’s be civil.”
And for the most part, they were.
The townsfolk got through the first few items with very little discussion. Matters of tax collection dates and revenue policies were presented and quickly voted on, with residents lifting bright orange paint stirrers to express their approval.
Administration, town property and code enforcement funds were approved. Same with insurances and retirement funds and the cost of running the Planning Board.
There were very few fireworks until they reached Article 12, a vote on whether the town should raise and appropriate $479,467 for the Sabattus Police Department.
“Do you people know how much a half a million dollars is?” longtime resident Walter Wood demanded of his neighbors. “It’s a lot of money.”
His main issue, he told the crowd, was that speeding traffic is out of control on Ballpark Road, where children walk to and from school.
“We’re spending all this money,” Wood said, “but no one is looking out for the kids.”
There were murmurs of agreement, but they were followed by several expressions of support for Sabattus police Chief Anthony Ward. There were also concerns that any cuts to the police budget could result in slower response times in emergencies.
“This is not the same Maine as when I first got here,” said Amedeo Lauria, chairman of the town’s Budget Committee. “Now we have meth labs and all sorts of things. We can’t afford to make cuts in this area.”
The vote passed overwhelmingly. Further grumblings came over a measure to pay out $26,611 for the animal control officer, but that passed as well. So did the vote on making $136,810 available to the Fire Department, as did a move to provide $13,000 for the Emergency First Responder Program. Even the big-ticket items, such as half a million dollars for the Public Works Department, were approved with only minor complaints about cracked roads and bumpy parking lots.
By and large, it was a friendly affair, largely expected because there were no sizzling controversies on the agenda and no last-minute surprises. And it was a cool and cloudy Thursday rather than a beautiful Saturday afternoon.
“It was very difficult for folks to give up a Saturday in June,” Gilmore said, “especially if you’ve had a rainy spring like we’ve had.”
In the past, the town had been forced to delay an annual meeting once or twice while they rounded up people to make the mandatory 25-voter minimum. Thursday’s turnout was the largest in recent memory for some. The bulk of those who turned out were of retirement age or older, but to most residents, that was understandable.
“A lot of people don’t get out of work until 5 or 5:30 p.m.,” said Sabattus resident Guy Desjardins. “It’s hard to get over to a meeting if you’re just coming home from a long day at work.”
Even so, Desjardins remembered when Sabattus town meetings were huge events, even when they were held on weekends.
“We’ve had meetings on Saturdays since I’ve been here,” he said. “It used to be a big thing for us. We’d get 100 or 150 people coming out.”
Still, no one complained about the size of the Thursday night turnout. By the time all was said and done, every item in the proposal had been approved. The effect on the town tax rate?
“The final estimate of last night’s impact on the mil rate would be an estimated increase of $0.45 per thousand on the mil rate,” said Gilmore. “If the school budget is passed as presented, the estimate would be another $1.04 increase.
“The final exact mil rate figures will not be decided until late July after all budget decisions are made, assessing work is complete, and the Selectmen decide what to raise for overlay and sign the certificate of assessment,” Gilmore said. “However, I think the $0.45-municipal figure and $1.04-school figure will be very close to the final mil rate increase if there are no big surprises in the school vote and remaining assessing work.”
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