Charlotte voters reject school budget at annual town meeting

The additional local share for the proposed Charlotte school budget was turned down by residents at the annual town meeting on May 25, leading the school committee to review the budget again and bring it back for a special town meeting. Approximately 90 people attended the annual town meeting, which was held at the Charlotte Elementary School.
During the discussion on the warrant articles concerning the school budget, voters first approved raising $217,696 as the required local share to fund the elementary school. Residents, though, turned down, by a vote of 50 to 34, the raising of the additional local share of $297,541, with $80,000 to be from surplus and $217,541 to be raised from property taxes. As proposed, the additional local share would have been $125,944 more than last year and the total local share would have been up $133,480. Meanwhile, the state has cut the school subsidy for Charlotte by $159,870 from the $382,592 received last year. Since the article did not pass, the school committee will review the budget and once again bring it to the town to be voted on at a special town meeting, scheduled for Tuesday, June 27, at 6:30 p.m. at the elementary school.
Excluding the school account, the money appropriated at the town meeting totals $422,000, which is $55,181 more than the previous year.
New selectman elected
At the beginning of the meeting, Robert Moholland was elected as moderator, Janice Scanlon was reelected to be the town clerk, and it was voted to have the annual salaries for 2023 remain the same as the previous year. Residents voted to raise and appropriate $6,000 for property tax abatements, which is the same as last year.
The following officers were elected: selectman for three years, Robert Comeau; treasurer for one year, Angela Cook; tax collector for one year, Janice Scanlon; school committee member for three years, Krista Vining; superintendent of cemeteries, Wayne Chick; planning board member for three years, Jeff Orchard; conservation member for three years, Nancy Fennell; and zoning board of appeals member for three years, Krista Vining.
Town residents are very grateful for the many years that Ernest James served the town as a selectman, but he chose to retire from the office this year.
Articles approved
For town administration, $75,000 was raised and appropriated, an increase of $10,000. Residents voted to raise $20,000, a decrease of $10,000, and appropriate $50,000, an increase of $10,000, from the auto excise tax account for town roads. They also voted to raise $110,000, the same as last year, and appropriate $80,000, an increase of $40,000, from the auto excise tax account for snow removal. It was voted to raise and appropriate $10,000 for ambulance service, which is an increase of $2,000.
Residents voted to appropriate $6,000 for the maintenance and care of town cemeteries from the Moosehorn Refuge account. A total of $500 was raised and appropriated for animal control, which is a decrease of $500; $24,000 was appropriated for town insurances, which is an increase of $6,000; and $18,000 for disposing of the town's solid waste at Marion Transfer Station, which is a decrease of $2,000.
Money raised and appropriated for donations were $300 for Eastern Area Agency on Aging, $500 for Downeast Community Partners, $100 for WIC and $300 for the LifeFlight Foundation, which are all the same as last year. The town raised $1,700 for dues to the Maine Municipal Association, which is an increase of $181, and appropriated $20,000 from the surplus account for Charlotte Fire and Rescue, which is the same as last year. It was voted to pay the Town of Pembroke $1,000 for the use of the Pembroke Town Office, which is the same as last year.
Residents voted that taxes be due 30 days after the day of commitment, with a discount of 1% if paid within 30 days, and that taxes must be paid by January 1, 2024, and that an interest rate of 4% be charged after that date.