Special Town Meeting
Special town meeting was held to vote on the following three warrant articles that were voted down at a May 12 special meeting.

Citizen Audrey Fortier made a motion to vote on the articles by secret ballot.  The motion for a secret ballot failed on a hand vote.

The Articles:
–To see what sum the Town will vote to appropriate and expend from the Undesignated General Fund Balance to cover the unexpected orverdraft in the Highway budget for 2007/08 Winter Maintenance.–Town Council Recommends: $150,000 from Undesignated General Fund-Passed on a hand vote.

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Here’s the skinny on the Town Meeting to vote on the Town budget. You will need to have Town of South Berwick Annual Report to get all the information about the Articles, but here’s a quick rundown of results of voting.

Article 1: Tom Harmon was elected moderator.

Richard Clough made a motion that Articles 8-24 be voted on in secret ballot. The motion passed with 90 yes and 80 no votes.

Article 2: To see if the Town will authorize the Town Council to dispose of tax acquired property in any manner in which the Town Council deems to be in the best interests of the Town. Passed on a voice vote.

Article 3: To see if the Town will vote to authorize the Tax Collector to charge and collect interest at a rate of eleven percent per annum on all unpaid taxes not paid by the due dates…. Passed on a voice vote.
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Monday, June 2
Solid Waste Committee Mtg.
6:00 PM - Meeting Room 1

Town Meeting
6:30 PM - Auditorium Hall: Town Hall
To vote on town budget
Find out more about the town budget….

Tuesday, June 3
Budget Workshop
6:00 PM - Town Manager’s office

Planning Board
7:00 PM - Council Chambers

Wednesday, June 4
EDC Meeting
1:00 PM - Council Chambers

Thursday, June 5
Historic District Committee Meeting
7:00 PM - Meeting Room 2

At SAD 35 this Week:

Wednesday, June 4 - 7:00 p.m.
SAD 35 Regular School Board Meeting
Marshwood High School
New Business:
1. Consideration/action to approve the request for use of busses by the South Berwick Recreation Department.
2. Consideration/action to approve the MMS contract with the Coca Cola Bottling Company.
3. Consideration/action to approve the construction of softball dugouts to be paid for out of the Enterprise Funds.
See the full agenda…

Thursday, June 5
SAD 35 District Budget Meeting
7pm Marshwood High School
Citizens will have the opportunity to vote on each proposed article in the school budget. At the conculsion of the meetinf a final dollar amount will be extablished for voter validation on June 10.
Find out more about the SAD 35 budget... (links to budget info at the top of the page)

The next school board meeting includes time for public input on the school budget.

Maine School Administrative District No. 35
Board of Directors - Regular Meeting - Marshwood High School
Wednesday, May 7, 2008 - 7:00 p.m.

Public Input - Budget

New Business:
1. Consideration and action to approve the NOP - Karen Wright at MHS.
2. Consideration and action to approve the Ratification of Contract with QEA.
3. Consideration and action to approve the recommendation of the Athletic Stipend Committee.
4. Consideration and action to approve the MHS Mission Statement.
5. Consideration and action to approve the Nomination of First Year and Second Year Probationary Teachers.
6. Consideration and action to approve policy EBCF, Environmentally Sound Schools, second reading.
7. Consideration and action to approve a student attending out of zone.
8. Consideration and action to adopt the FY’09 Budget.
9-11. Votes on the actions necessary for final approval of the budget and for setting the District Budget Meeting for June 5, 2008 and for setting the District Budget Validation Referendum for June 10, 2008.

See the entire agenda.

Here’s the skinny on tonight’s town council meeting:

Town Council Meeting - April 28, 2008

Councilor Gagne was not present.

Organizational – Elect Council Chair
-Councilor Jean Demetracopoulos was elected as Council Chair

Reports
Bruce Whitney reported on the status of two vacant lots the town wishes to sell. The lots were acquired through a tax seizure. He explained that in order to sell the properties would need clear title. He explained work that has been done on behalf of the town to get the clear title. The town’s choices are to sue the directors of the now defunct company that formerly owned the property or wait until 2009 when a 15 year waiting period will expire. The council agreed to wait until 2009 rather than incur any legal expenses that would arise from a lawsuit.

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The Town Council has made some headway on getting the budget down. They’ve got spending down below 2008 levels but revenues from excise taxes, car registrations, and building permits continue to be way below expectations so it still means a tax increase. Read more in this Foster’s Daily Democrat article:

South Berwick looking at tax rate increase due to revenue shortfall
Foster’s Daily Democrat
Though the Town Council has slashed nearly $1 million from the first draft of its 2009 municipal budget — in the process actually bringing expenditures below 2008 levels — taxpayers are still looking at a tax rate increase due to a factor largely out of town’s control: revenue.

It looks like the Town Council cut another $500,000 from the budget at a workshop on April 15. Here’s the article from Portsmouth Herald:

South Berwick trims budget
Portsmouth Herald
The Town Council worked with department heads Tuesday night to find an additional $500,000 in budget cuts, bringing the fiscal 2009 year budget request down to a level they hope residents can live with …

Monday, April 14
Public Hearing: Fiscal Year 2009 Budget
6:30 PM - Auditorium
Town Budget page with links to proposed budget

Town Council to follow hearing
6:30 PM - Auditorium
On the Agenda:
Old Business
1. Discuss/take action on VFW request for funds.
2. Discuss Comprehensive Plan update.
New Business
1. Discuss/take action on donation to Lion’s Club.
2. Discuss/take action on EMA Director and Deputies.
3. Discuss/take action on acceptance of ATV Enforcement Grant.
4. Discuss/take action on request to apply for Speed Enforcement Grant & Seatbelt Grant.
5. Discuss/take action on disposal fees at transfer station.
6. Discuss/take action regarding petition for Charter recall provision.
7. Take action on St. Michael’s purchase option.
Full Agenda

Tuesday, April 15
Budget Workshop/Tentative
5:00 PM - Town Manager’s Office

Planning Board Meeting CANCELLED
7:00 PM - Council Chambers

Budget Update
An overview of the proposed 2009 budget is posted on the town web site.
As of yesterday, the Proposed Appropriations by department for fiscal year 2009 have been posted on the Town web site Budget page. The entire budget is also available in the Town Clerk’s office for viewing or purchase.

The Public Hearing on the Budget is scheduled for April 14, 2008 at 6:30 pm.

Town Council Workshop
Monday, April 7, 2008 at 5:00 PM, Town Manager’s Office
The Town Council will meet in a workshop this evening to discuss direction with regard to the Interim Manager Search and possibly the Public Works Director opening.

Solid Waste Committee Mtg.
Monday, April 7, 2008 at 6:00 PM, Meeting room 1

Budget Update
An overview of the proposed 2009 budget is posted on the town web site.
The Public Hearing on the Budget is scheduled for April 14, 2008 at 6:30 pm.

It’s always a good idea to check the Town web site to verify meetings before attending.

South Berwick Budget Update: An overview of the proposed 2009 budget is posted on the town web site. The Town Council has reduced the Manager’s recommended budget of $6,202,517 to $5,763,795. The Public Hearing on the Budget is scheduled for April 14, 2008 at 6:30 pm.

Help honor Veterans: You can help honor those who have served and sacrificed for our country by donating to the VFW’s memorial cemetery to help with the purchase of flag holders and flags for this year’s Memorial Day observance. Find out more…

Well water testing: The South Berwick Conservation Commission is sponsoring well water testing for South Berwick residents and the testing kits are now available at town hall. Find out more…

Community Chorus at South Berwick: There are still two more performances of the CCSB spring concert, “From a Poet’s Pen,” a concert of choral music inspired by poetry and verses. I went last night and it was a wonderful performance. The theme of poetry inspired music offered a varied program that made the night fly by. CCSB premiered “Spheres,” a commissioned piece from composer Charles Kaufman. If I was better at describing music I might be able to hint at the way this piece wove together voices, words, and music into passages of quiet subtlety and passages of soaring complexity–it was a treat. Don’t miss this opportunity. Find out more…

Godspell at Marshwooh High School: There is one more performance tonight of Marshwood’s production of Godspell. I heard yesterday from someone who saw it that this just might be the best production Marshwood has ever done. Find out more…

There’s a regular school board meeting tonight:
Wednesday, March 19, 2008 - 7:00 p.m., Marshwood High School

Here’s an article from Portsmouth Herald about the meeting:
SAD 35 to discuss school budget tonight
Portsmouth Herald News
School Administrative District 35 wants to spend more money in 2008-09, but it’s expecting to get less aid from the state…

Here’s a summary of tonight’s agenda:
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The Town Council had a budget workshop on March 11, 2008. There is a recap of the budget workshop on the town’s budget website page. The Town Manager’s proposed revenue, expense, and capital budget can also be found there.

The upcoming schedule for budget workshops is as follows
Monday March 17th at 5 pm
Police, Dispatch, ACO and Public Safety CIP
Fire and Fire Department CIP

Tuesday March 18th at 5 pm
Workshop w/Solid Waste Committee for no longer than 1 hour
Highway, Town Hall, Community Center
Town Garage, Public Facilities, Transfer Station,
Solid Waste, Roads, Sidewalks & Highway Equipment CIP

Tuesday March 25th at 5 pm
EMA, Rescue, Clerk, Control Collection, Code Enforcement,
Conservation, Library, Library CIP, Assessing, Computer,
Planning, EDC, Recreation, Manager, Administration,
Employee Benefits, Debt, remaining CIP, Revenues.

There is a story on the budget in today’s Portsmouth Herald:

Budget fight: Manager’s job at stake in South Berwick
Portsmouth Herald
At the heart of the controversy surrounding the potential resignation of Town Manager Jeffrey Grossman is the proposed fiscal year 2009 operating budget…

3/13/08 Update:  In the Portsmouth Herald story it says that next Tuesday’s budget workshop is canceled.  Roberta Orsini, Executive Assistant to the Town Manager, confirms that the Tuesday March 18th meeting is still scheduled.

The town council meeting followed a work session with the Maine Department of Transportation regarding a potential bypass and a special town meeting to vote on a warrant to transfer $100,000 from the undesignated fund to cover winter maintenance. The warrant passed on a voice vote. A recap of the Department of Transportation workshop will be posted here in a day or so.

Approximately 100 people attended tonight’s meetings. Reporters from Foster’s Daily Democrat, Portsmouth Herald, and radio station WTSN (1270 AM) attending the meeting so there should be coverage tomorrow.

The meeting was an emotional one with candid discussion about the ongoing tension between the Council and the Manager and the revelation that the Town Manager has been asked by the Town Council to resign or face proceedings to remove him from the position. There was also much public comment on the comprehensive plan, the town budget, and potential tax increases.
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There is a special town meeting tonight, Monday, March 10, 2008 at 6:30 PM in Auditorium Hall.  The warrant does not seem to be published on the town web site.  Howeve, an article in Foster’s Daily Democrat indicates that it is for the transfer of $100, 000  from the undesignated fund account for winter snow removal.  Here’s the article:

South Berwick snow removal budget $190g in the red
Foster’s Daily Democrat
A special town meeting will be held Monday, March 10 at 6:30 pm at the Town Hall regarding the transfer of $100000 …

Everyone has lots of opinions and ideas about the budget.  Here’s the place to talk about it.

I just got information that the budget workshops scheduled for today and tomorrow at 5 PM have been canceled. I don’t know why, but will post the information if I learn more.

The proposed budget documents have now been posted on the town web site budget page

Projected Revenues Fiscal Year 2009

Projected Appropriations Fiscal Year 2009

Capital Project Plan (10 Year)

This year’s budget process promises to be difficult. Today’s Foster’s Daily Democrat is reporting that Town Manager Jeff Grossman says the town is in a budget crisis and is projecting an increase in taxes.

Read the article:
‘Budget crisis’ could mean a 26 percent tax rate increase in South …
Foster’s Daily Democrat
Town Manager Jeff Grossman says the town is in a “budget crisis” and points to a projected 26-percent increase in the town’s 2009 tax rate as the result…

Budget Workshops Schedule

Monday 3/3 at 5 pm
Tuesday 3/4 at 5 pm (Update 3/3/08: These workshops have been canceled)
Tuesday 3/11 at 5 pm
Monday 3/17 at 5 pm
Tuesday 3/18 at 5 pm
Tuesday 3/25 at 5 pm

The public is welcome at budget workshops. A variety of departmental budgets are reviewed during each meeting.

Workshops are held in Council Chambers on the 2nd floor of Town Hall. If the location changes, it will be posted on the bulletin board outside the Town Clerk’s office.

Public Hearing on the Budget: April 14, 2008 at 6:30 pm in Council Chambers.

Town Budget Meeting: June 2, 2008 at 6:30 pm, Auditorium Hall, Town Hall, 180 Main Street

Town Manager Jeff Grossman indicates the proposed budget will be posted on the Town web site in the next day or so.