York Town News
Budget Committee vote scheduled for this Saturday
By Jennifer L. Saunders
YORK - The Budget Committee's line item by line item review of the proposed fiscal 2008 town and school budgets continues this week in preparation for a scheduled vote set for this Saturday, Feb. 24.At 8 a.m. at the York Public Library, the committee is scheduled to meet to vote on the individual capital and operating requests to put forward for the May budget referendum.
The proposed York School Department operating budget came in at about $22.8 million with about $2.2 million for debt service.
The town's proposed operating budget is approximately $13.6 million.
In addition, the town's Capital Committee has recommended almost $7 million in funding, including about $500,000 toward an addition to York High School for arts instruction space, $500,000 toward the town's major drainage remediation work and $6 million for a Town Hall.
In recent weeks, the Budget Committee has asked questions about an array of school and town requests, with the past week's discussions including a look at the Department of Public Works, York Police Department, York Senior Center and capital requests, to name a few.
The Budget Committee met last night, Tuesday, Feb. 20, to hear responses to questions from the most recent review of the town request on Feb. 15. Tuesday's meeting occurred at press time and no information was available in time for this publication.
Last week's meeting included praise from Town Treasurer Margaret McIntosh for the committee's work to date.
"You are doing a fabulous job in asking questions and your thorough review is appreciated," McIntosh said at the start of the Feb. 15 meeting, adding, "York benefits from it."
The questions asked at that meeting included several related to work on public ways and drainage.
Public Works Director Bill Bray explained that, as was evidenced in last May's flood, the town has much work to do in terms of drainage.
"We need to invest in these drainage systems or we're going to continue to experience the damage that happens when you get a major rain event," he said, adding this year's budget request for additional funds is in an effort to be ready during significant rain events like the May floods by better maintaining the town's culverts in advance. "We're not doing nearly the amount of culvert updates and culvert replacement that we need to be doing."
Bray also updated the committee on the Maine Department of Transportation project at the intersection of Routes 1 and 91, where a traffic light can now be seen, shrouded for the time being, but expected to be operational this summer.
"That will be interconnected with the traffic light at Hannaford and the one at York Corner," Bray confirmed.
The committee also asked questions about the town's maintenance of the Fishermen's Walk through York Harbor and future sidewalk construction planning in such areas as Nubble Road.
Later in the meeting, the Budget Committee heard from York Police Chief Doug Bracy on funding requests and on York's future as a public safety answering point (PSAP) serving Kittery, Eliot, South Berwick, Berwick and Ogunquit. That plan came forward after the state mandated the number of PSAPs be significantly reduced statewide.
York could, potentially, become a regional dispatch center as well, depending on the progress the town makes toward securing the space to construct a new police station.
"I think the York Police Department does an outstanding job," said Budget Committee member Nancy Eaton, adding, "they do a tremendous job considering the quarters that they're in as well."
Following Saturday's vote on the proposed fiscal 2008 budget, which will be televised on York's public access channel, the Budget Committee is scheduled to hold its public hearing on Tuesday, Feb. 27, at the library, beginning at 6 p.m.
