The Town Council is bringing the following warrant articles to the voters on  July 19. The Town Manager has released documents explain the Town budget and issues addressed at this upcoming meeting.

Town Manager’s Document: Budget Questions

Town Manager’s Document: LD1 Fact Sheet

Town Manager’s Document: Fund Balance

Town Manager’s Document:  Cash Flow

Special Town Meeting:  Tuesday July 19 at 6:30 pm, Town Hall, South Berwick

At this meeting the voters are asked to rescind the revenues as voted on June 7th and approve a new proposal to include an additional $100,000 transfer from the Undesignated Fund. The next article will authorize the LD1 Overrun for the amount of the Bond Payment approved for Library Construction. The third article will authorize the remaining LD1 override. The articles are as follows:

ARTICLE 2. To see if the Town will vote to rescind Article 21 approved at the Town Meeting on June 7, 2011 and instead, vote to apply from Excise Taxes, Non—Tax General Fund Revenues, Revenue Sharing, BETE Reimbursement, Homestead Exemption Reimbursement and Undesignated Fund transfer to use toward the 2011/2012 Budget Appropriations approved at the Town meeting on June 7, 2011 via Articles 8 through 20, inclusive, thereby decreasing the amount to be raised by taxation.
TOWN COUNCIL RECOMMENDS THE FOLLOWING APPLICATIONS:
Excise Taxes $1,000,000
Non—Tax General Fund Revenues 662,042
State Revenue Sharing 375,000
Homestead Exemption Reimbursement 125,000
PETE Reimbursement 12,000
Undesignated Fund Transfer 100,000
Total $2,274,042

ARTICLE 3. To see if the Town will vote to increase the property tax levy limit of $3,000,599 established for the Town of South Berwick by State law for the 2011/2012 Municipal budget approved on June 7, 2011 via Articles 8 through 20, inclusive, to accommodate the payment for the $1.5 million dollar Library Construction bond approved via referendum vote on November 2, 2010. TOWN COUNCIL RECOMMENDS: Adoption

ARTICLE 4. To see if the Town will vote to increase the property tax levy limit of $3,000,599 established for the Town of South Berwick by State law for the 2011/2012 Municipal budget approved on June 7, 2011 via Articles 8 through 21, inclusive, adjusted for Article 2 and 3 above. TOWN COUNCIL RECOMMENDS: Adoption

The purpose of Town Meeting is for the Town Council to present an annual budget to the citizens for their approval or disapproval. It comes with a responsibility to also voice where, when proposed, cuts should be delivered. Not only was that not forth coming, but the opportunity to do that was taken from the citizenry by two motions to end discussion. Though the majority of those present, (only 2% of the registered voters) voted to end discussion, there were at least 20 hands raised for those who wished to speak but did not receive that opportunity from their fellow citizens. These citizens were disenfranchised of their right to voice their opinion, to participate in the debate, which is the foundation of town meeting. Town meeting should not be a venue for power plays. All citizens have a responsibility to attend and vote on the budget that will ultimately determine their town tax rate.

The budget as presented by the Town Council accurately reflected true costs of public services. It included;
–Maintaining the current level of services for police patrols, crossing guards and dispatch;
–Maintaining the current level of town hall services and hours of operations;
– Maintaining the current level of community center, recreational and library programs which  leverage volunteer service hours and user fees;
–Maintaining the current level of transfer station hours;
–The new expenses of the library bond approved in the November referendum and the  -infrastructure bond passed at last year’s town meeting $199,922;
–And a road infrastructure program which begins to address the crumbling roads in town.

The resulting expense increase of $ 529,912 followed three years of budgeted expenditures which increased a total of only .4% (virtually level funded). The rate of Inflation through this same period was 5.15%. These budgets included cuts to town staff, reductions in employee benefits and foregoing of raises.

The result of Town Meeting is a budget, presented to the public for their review and vote. It is now the citizen’s budget which could see major budget cuts, as much as $425,000 (8% across all departments). A respondent at town meeting offered that it is the responsibility of the town council to make these cuts. That statement defeats the purpose of town meeting where citizen priorities could be clearly established for the town council to implement. The Council has chosen to present another opportunity to the citizens to weigh in. The council will present three warrant articles; One allows for an increase in the revenues by using $100,000 from the Town’s undesignated fund. One allows for the LD 1 override to cover the expenses of the library bond approved previously and the last to override the LD1 limit by the additional costs associated with town government including increases to solid waste tipping fees, road salt and fuel. The Town Council would encourage all those who call South Berwick their home to attend the July 19th Town Meeting and exercise their responsibilities to determine, during the LD1 override discussions, which services they will fund and which they will cut.

David Burke, South Berwick Town Council Chair
Jean Demetracopoulos, South Berwick Town Council

Russell Tarason bought the former St. Michael's rectory building from the Town of South Berwick for one dollar. Mr. Tarason paid for the move of the building to his land. Russell Tarason and Town Manager Perry Ellsworth celebrate the transfer.

Isn’t it great when what seems like an insurmountable problem works out?  That’s what has happened in South Berwick with the former St. Michael’s Rectory.  The old rectory was in the way of the renovation of the former St. Michael’s Church to transform it into South Berwick’s new Library.  For a while it looked like the rectory would have to be dismantled, much to the distress of many who did not want to see a fine old house lost.  Fortunately, the Town of South Berwick, under the direction of Town Manager Perry Ellsworth, persevered in trying to find a taker for the building.  As a result, South Berwick resident and real estate owner Russell Tarason stepped forward and on July 13 the old rectory moved from its spot next to the future Library to Mr. Tarason’s property.   The transfer means that the old building will continue its life and the Town does not have to bear the cost of dismantling and disposing of the building.

Here the rectory has been raised off its foundation and readied to be transferred to the truck.

The rectory is on the move through the parking lot on its way to Mr. Tarason's property, which is adjacent to the former church property.

According to those who watched the move, it was an amazing site to see this large building rolling along.

The old rectory on the new site awaiting its foundation.

The Town Council  is bringing the following warrant articles to the voters on July 12 and July 19.  The Town Manager has released a document that answers questions about what happened at the June 7 meeting and why these additional special meetings are scheduled.

Town Manager’s Document: Budget Questions

Special Town Meetings:

Tuesday, July 12,  at 6:30 PM
Authorization for overruns related to winter, general assistance, etc.

Voters will consider the following warrant articles:

ARTICLE 2. To see what sum the Town will vote to appropriate and expend from the Undesignated General Fund Balance to cover the unexpected overdraft in the Highway budget for 2010/11.  TOWN COUNCIL RECOMMENDS: $80,000 from Undesignated General Fund.
ARTICLE 3. To see what sum the Town will vote to appropriate and expend from the Undesignated General Fund Balance to cover the unexpected overdraft in the Transfer Station budget for 2010/11.  TOWN COUNCIL RECOMMENDS: $13,000 from Undesignated General Fund.

Tuesday July 19 at 6:30 pm

At this meeting the voters are asked to rescind the revenues as voted on June 7^th and approve a new proposal to include an additional $100,000 transfer from the Undesignated Fund.  The next article will authorize the LD1 Overrun for the amount of the Bond Payment approved for Library Construction.  The third article will authorize the remaining LD1 override.  The articles are as follows:

ARTICLE 2. To see if the Town will vote to rescind Article 21 approved at the Town Meeting on June 7, 2011 and instead, vote to apply from Excise Taxes, Non—Tax General Fund Revenues, Revenue Sharing, BETE Reimbursement, Homestead Exemption Reimbursement and Undesignated Fund transfer to use toward the 2011/2012 Budget Appropriations approved at the Town meeting on June 7, 2011 via Articles 8 through 20, inclusive, thereby decreasing the amount to be raised by taxation.
TOWN COUNCIL RECOMMENDS THE FOLLOWING APPLICATIONS:
Excise Taxes $1,000,000
Non—Tax General Fund Revenues 662,042
State Revenue Sharing 375,000
Homestead Exemption Reimbursement 125,000
PETE Reimbursement 12,000
Undesignated Fund Transfer 100,000
Total $2,274,042

ARTICLE 3. To see if the Town will vote to increase the property tax levy limit of $3,000,599 established for the Town of South Berwick by State law for the 2011/2012 Municipal budget approved on June 7, 2011 via Articles 8 through 20, inclusive, to accommodate the payment for the $1.5 million dollar Library Construction bond approved via referendum vote on November 2, 2010.  TOWN COUNCIL RECOMMENDS: Adoption

ARTICLE 4. The Town Manager has released a document that outlines the LD 1 property tax levy limit and explains the predicted impact of passage of the above articles on property taxes.

Town Manager’s Document: LD1 Fact Sheet

In photo l to r: Magda McNulty, Maggie Moses, Liz Whalen, Doreen McNulty, Perry Ellsworth, Town Manager and David Burke, Council Chairman.

A ribbon cutting was recently held to welcome one of South Berwick’s newest businesses.  Check it out.

SoBotique,439 Main St, South Berwick, ME   384-8811 Facebook

Hours: Tues – Sat: 10:00 am - 5:00 pm    Sun: 12:00 pm - 4:00 pm

SoBotique is a resale shop that carries items from vintage/retro to trendy! A portion of their profits will go to South Berwick nonprofits. They accept donations.

The budget was validated.  The results:

Eliot:  yes 586 no 223

South Berwick:  yes 196 no 74

South Berwick’s voter turn out:  5.5%

Strawberry Hulling Party

Friday, June 24th, 8:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m., at the Community Center,

This is the prep work for the selling of strawberry shortcakes on Saturday. This is a fun activity! Catch up with your friends or make new ones while hulling and slicing berries. The Community Center is located on Norton Street.

If interested, contact Scarlett Hanson at 384-4436 or by e-mail at  volunteer@southberwickstrawberryfestival.com
or drop by the Community Center and join us on Friday, June 24th 8:00-12:00

Strawberry Shortcake Tent

Saturday, June 25th, 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., at the Central School

Volunteers are needed for two hour shifts: preparing and serving strawberry shortcakes and cheesecake, cashiers, kitchen crew or clean-up. Just come with a smile, we will provide you with aprons and instructions!

If interested, contact Jean Graunke at 384-2506 or by e-mail at volunteer@southberwickstrawberryfestival.com

For thirty-six consecutive years, hundreds of volunteers have come together for a South Berwick tradition. Official Festival activities will take place only on the grounds of Central School, on Main Street, in the center of town. A stop at the Strawberry Festival Information Booth is a must to find out more about the day’s schedule for the entertainers, as well as where all the various activities are located and to purchase strawberry festival memorabilia.

Preparation of the strawberries start on Friday, the morning before the Festival at the Community Center, where over a hundred and fifty volunteers get together for a good old fashioned social to hull, slice, and sugar the berries. Other volunteers slice the biscuits, prepare the whipped cream and move everything under the Strawberry Shortcake tent so all will be ready for the Festival goers when it opens at 9:00 am.

The Strawberry Festival Committee is pleased to announce that they we are continuing to serve Strawberry Shortcake and Cheesecake on biodegradable bowls, plates and spoons. These items are made out sugar cane called Bagasse tableware. Bagasse is the biomass remaining after sugarcane stalks are crushed to extract their juices. Additionally, we will be recycling all of the hulls from the berries for anyone who would like them for composting. The boxes and the plastic containers for the berries will also be recycled.

Transportation to and from the Festival is FREE via an old fashion trolley ride. Running every 20 minutes, the trolleys provide free transportation to the Festival from parking locations at Marshwood Great Works School on Rt 236, Community Center on Norton St, Powder House Hill, and Agamenticus Field.

Strawberry shortcakes have always been a favorite of the Festival. They will begin serving at 9:00am until we run out. Last year we served up over 250 cases of fresh strawberries, 80 gallons of whipped cream and over 330 dozen biscuits. There will be 90 strawberry cheesecakes added to the menu and complimented with; you guessed it, strawberries. The costs of these items is only $5.00.

In addition to shortcakes and cheesecakes there is also a huge Food Court. There will be a pancake breakfast from 6:00 – 10:00. Throughout the day there will be various food items sold by local non-profit groups. The Fire Dept will be selling hamburgers, hot dogs, fries and cold drinks. The Community Pantry will be serving up frozen lemon aid. Knights of Columbus –fried dough, Masons–chicken BBQ and other assorted non-profit groups serving sandwich wraps, teriyaki, nachos, fruit cups, cotton candy and water.

The schedule of activities: Road Race
The day’s activities begin at 8:00am, a 5 mile Road Race and 2.5 mile Fun Walk, sponsored by the South Berwick Recreation Department and local businesses, kick off from Marshwood Middle School on Academy St.

Entertainment
Throughout the day, a variety of entertainers from around the area will be performing on two stages set up around the grounds.
• At the Central School Field Stage, Northern Explosion Cloggers, a great group of cloggers, go on at 9:00,10:00,11:00. All Together Now a Beatles tribute band at 12:30 – 3:30
• At the Central School Front stage, Bob & Maria Puppeteers at 9:00 and 10:00, Women of Note, an cappella group at 11:30 – 1:00; Funky Divas of Gospel 2:00 – 4:00 and Seacoast Men of Harmony at 11:30 – 1:30
• In the Field Area from 9:00 – 4:00 Wildlife Encounters. For the kids there will be a climbing wall, pony rides, a giant tiger slide, dunking booth, exotic animals exhibition, pony rides, a bungee jumping setup and much more.

Crafts
Over 100 juried artisans will be on hand to display and sell their hand-made wares, including clothing, pottery, wood products, jewelry, paintings, photographs, candles, jams and dips, furniture, and much, much more. These crafters will be located both at the side of Central School and in the area around the food court.

Please be kind to your pets and have them stay in the coolness of your home.

More at http://www.southberwickstrawberryfestival.com

On a Saturday at the end of May SoBo Central put out a call for volunteers to help plant each of the barrels and to spruce up the Town-owned island at the end of Butler Street.  And as is the norm in South Berwick, people came out of the woodwork to give their time to help make the town a better place.

According to Tanna Clews, SoBo Central hopes to extend the barrels down Main St. to Central School.  For more information about project or if you would like to sponsor a barrel contact Tanna Clews at info@sobocentral.org.

Tanna Clews and Judy Wood discuss the planting strategy.

A contingent of volunteers weed and mulch the overgrown island at the corner of Butler and Main.

The South Berwick Town Meeting was held tonight for voters to consider the Town Budget . The budget as put forward by the Town Council would have resulted in a $5.73 Municipal Tax Rate (excludes County and SAD 35), a 70 cent increase over last year. The increase was caused by projected revenues down by 6.45% and increased expenses of the Library Construction Bond that was approved by voters in November 2010, a budget increase to the highway Department to reflect realistic costs for repairs, winter contracts, fuel, and salt, and an increase for the Transfer Station due to increased costs from Maine Energy Recovery Corporation for disposal costs. The warrant and detailed budgets can be found on the Town web site.

Twenty one of the twenty two warrant articles passed handily with very little discussion. The final warrant article, Article 22, asked voters to increase the property tax levy limit of $3,000,599 established for South Berwick by state law (LD 1) to account for the budget approved by the passage of the preceding warrant articles. After two motions to limit discussion and move the vote, the first of which failed and the second of which passed, this warrant article failed, with a vote of 45 yes and 56 no. That means that the Town Council will have to go back to the budget to make cuts and bring the budget back to the voters in a special town meeting.

Tonight’s decision will have important repercussions. Services may be cut, people may lose their jobs, the Town’s infrastructure may suffer more neglect. These big decisions were made by 101 voters, a mere 2% of registered voters of South Berwick. This happened at a Town Meeting held on a warm summer night that required two hours of commitment from those of us who attended. The Town Meeting was held at the same time as the convocation ceremony for graduating seniors, meaning that many parents and grandparents could not attend the Town Meeting. Each year the Town Meeting is held during the final weeks of school; it is a time for activities and final projects so many parents have to make a choice between their civic duty and their families. You will never convince me that the turnout at South Berwick’s Town Meeiting is representative of the citizens of South Berwick. If I were one of the citizens who was at the convocation, or worked out of town and could not make it to town for the meeting, or were a parent who could not arrange child care for over two hours on a school night I would be hopping mad that important decisions were being made by such a small number of citizens.

Perhaps it’s time we jettison the Town Meeting. Other towns in Maine have abolished the Town Meeting in favor of a referendum ballot on the municipal budget.

South Berwick’s 2011 Annual Report reports that in last year’s gubernatorial, referendum and municipal elections held in November, 56% of South Berwick’s voters participated, while 24% of voters turned out for the June State referendum and SAD 35 budget validation elections. Even the lighter June turnout of 24% is better than the paltry 2% turnout at this year’s Town Meeting.

Our Town Charter provides for a method for abolishing the Town Meeting. Apparently those who crafted the Charter 40 years ago knew that someday the town might outgrow the Town Meeting. At one time the Town Meeting allowed people to come together once a year to ask questions, further their understanding and to debate issues before the town. Maybe we’ve grown too large or maybe life has become too hectic for Town Meeting to work. It seems that rather than a vital forum for democracy it has become a barrier to voter participation. Sad.