[0:13] if you're a bethel resident and you're

[0:16] registered to vote you need to check in

[0:17] with the table over there

[0:19] get an orange card to vote with we're

[0:21] working off the yellow

[0:23] or goldenrod warrant town meeting

[0:26] started yesterday when the polls opened

[0:28] at eight

[0:29] and at that time we elected dutch

[0:31] dresser as a moderator so i'll turn the

[0:32] meeting over to dutch

[0:38] thank you kristen

[0:42] we have a couple of items of business

[0:43] before we get into the warrant

[0:47] the election results of yesterday uh

[0:50] selectmen three years patricia mccartney

[0:54] 299

[0:56] glory swain 333 elected

[0:59] lloyd sweets at 4-3-3 elected

[1:02] selectmen two years neil scanlon 559

[1:06] elected assessor for three years

[1:10] michelle varullo 549 elected

[1:14] robert blake 18 elected

[1:17] sad 44 director three years

[1:21] margaret davis 400 collected

[1:25] stephanie herrick 371 elected

[1:29] david jones 218.

[1:38] the annual report this year is dedicated

[1:40] to donny and cheryl bennett

[1:42] who contributed much to this town over

[1:46] the years

[1:47] and they have written a thank you in

[1:48] which i'll read for them in their

[1:50] absence their

[1:51] social distancing to our wonderful town

[1:55] being recognized in our town by having

[1:57] the annual town report dedicated to us

[2:00] for doing the things we loved is

[2:01] priceless we both feel blessed for

[2:04] living in a community

[2:05] where we always felt we belong the

[2:07] things we did were always done out of

[2:09] caring for

[2:10] and because of the people around us this

[2:13] made it easy to try and give back a bit

[2:15] of ourselves as a gesture of

[2:17] appreciation

[2:18] and the belief that we must all

[2:20] participate locally when we can

[2:22] to assure that our town remains what it

[2:24] has always been

[2:25] a great place to live and raise our

[2:27] family from the bottom of our hearts

[2:30] donnie and cheryl

[2:36] let's see if i actually need the

[2:38] microphone can you hear me this way

[2:40] yeah yes all right if you can't if you can't hear me just

[2:47] speak out i'll try and do it that way

[2:50] okay so

[2:51] for those of you who haven't done this

[2:53] much before let's go through how this

[2:54] works

[2:55] i'll read an article from the warrant

[2:58] and some

[2:59] generous soul from the fro among you

[3:02] will we'll move the article

[3:06] as written in the case of article 3 for

[3:08] example

[3:10] somebody else will second it and then we

[3:12] can begin discussion on the article

[3:14] after discussions ended we'll vote on

[3:16] the article and move on to the next one

[3:18] most of the articles in tonight's

[3:20] warrant are money articles

[3:22] and the way the motion is made on those

[3:24] is to move the article

[3:26] in the amount of so you might say i move

[3:30] article 103 in the amount of 7.97

[3:34] we get a second and then we discuss it

[3:37] the amount can be amended during the

[3:39] discussion

[3:40] but the wording of the article cannot

[3:44] if you are not a citizen of bethlehem

[3:46] would like to speak

[3:47] it will take a two-thirds majority of

[3:49] those present voting to allow you to

[3:51] speak and i'd suggest we practice that

[3:53] now

[3:54] by voting to allow our town manager

[3:58] loretta

[3:58] to to uh to speak when she needs to so

[4:02] all those in favor of allowing loretta

[4:04] to speak thank you are those opposed

[4:06] where's your husband yeah he didn't go

[4:12] okay so we begin article three to see if

[4:14] the town will accept the governor's deed

[4:16] from the state of maine

[4:18] for the realignment of a portion of

[4:20] fleming road

[4:21] and maintain said portion of fleming

[4:23] road as a town way

[4:31] thank you very much we have a motion the

[4:33] second on article three is that

[4:35] discussion

[4:39] seeing none those in favor of article

[4:41] three

[4:42] and those opposed thank you article

[4:45] three scared unanimously

[4:46] article four to see if the town will

[4:48] vote to authorize the board of selectmen

[4:50] to spend unexpected fy 2020

[4:54] and any other previous year's capital

[4:56] improvement road funds

[4:57] to fund remaining projects on the road

[5:00] improvement list

[5:06] thank you in a second we had a second

[5:10] thank you is there a discussion on

[5:11] article four

[5:14] seeing none of those in favor of article

[5:16] four thank you and those opposed

[5:19] tackle force carried article five to see

[5:21] if the town will vote to ratify the

[5:23] actions

[5:24] of estimated overdrafts of fiscal year

[5:27] 2020

[5:28] and you can see the departments and

[5:30] overdrafts listed below and before

[5:32] you ask questions i will could we please

[5:36] talk about the thirty thousand dollar

[5:38] overdraft

[5:39] we have since we've had the coven 19

[5:41] we've had a

[5:42] astronaut astronomical amount of people

[5:45] cleaning out

[5:46] so and the prices for to get rid of our

[5:49] solid waste

[5:50] construction debris metals has all

[5:53] increased

[5:54] so this is where titan is hired right

[5:57] now

[5:58] okay do we have a motion on article five

[6:12] do you expect that to go down next year

[6:15] no

[6:16] because i think the prices are all going

[6:17] up for everything but it was because of

[6:20] code

[6:21] well part of it was because of it but

[6:23] yeah

[6:25] a lot of construction going on right now

[6:27] too

[6:30] other questions discussion on article 5.

[6:36] seeing none those in favor of article 5.

[6:39] thank you and those opposed article 5 is

[6:42] carried

[6:42] article 6 to see if the time will vote

[6:44] to fix dates what property taxes will be

[6:46] doing payable and to see if the time

[6:48] will fix a rate of interest on property

[6:50] taxes

[6:51] unpaid after said dates the selectmen

[6:54] recommended taxes will be due and

[6:55] payable in two equal installments

[6:57] october 1 2020 and april 1 2021

[7:01] and interest will be charged on unpaid

[7:02] amounts at a rate of 9

[7:04] annual as of november 2 2020

[7:08] and may 3 2021.

[7:12] i'd like to remove article 6

[7:16] with the exception of instead of nine

[7:17] percent i would like to have it be eight

[7:19] percent

[7:20] okay i'm not sure yeah

[7:24] change i think we need to move it get it

[7:25] on the table and then we're gonna amend

[7:27] it

[7:27] so i move it in the uh as read

[7:30] with the nine cents thank you and a

[7:33] second

[7:35] thank you no discussion we'd like to

[7:38] offer an amendment to change

[7:39] nine percent to eight percent yes my

[7:41] understanding is

[7:44] thank you is there a second to the

[7:45] amendment what was the previous

[7:48] interest rate nine it was at nine

[7:51] it's supposed to be eight and it it

[7:53] didn't get changed in the warrant in

[7:54] time

[7:56] okay so we're now discussing the

[7:58] amendment to change the nine percent to

[8:00] eight percent

[8:01] is there other discussion on the

[8:03] amendment

[8:04] so just to be clear the selectmen are

[8:07] recommending

[8:07] eight percent is that correct it's a

[8:10] state recommendation the state

[8:12] tells us how much we can charge and it

[8:15] was nine

[8:16] last year and it got it here as nine and

[8:18] it should have been eight

[8:20] it didn't get changed in time the state

[8:22] tells us

[8:23] what the maximum rate is we can charge

[8:25] okay

[8:27] still the selectmen are recommending

[8:29] eight percent okay

[8:32] when it comes other discussion on the

[8:35] amendment

[8:36] all those in favor of the amendment to

[8:37] alter to eight percent thank you and

[8:39] those opposed

[8:41] now an article on the main motion as as

[8:43] amended

[8:44] for any further discussion all those in

[8:47] favor of the atticalism ended

[8:49] thank you and those opposed the articles

[8:52] carried as amended

[8:55] article 7 to see if the town will vote

[8:57] to accept estimated

[8:59] federal state and local non-property tax

[9:01] revenues and designated

[9:03] donations to reduce the fy 21 property

[9:06] tax commitment

[9:07] as described as described below you can

[9:10] read those

[9:11] as well as i

[9:15] do we have a motion on article

[9:21] in the amount seven 164

[9:26] thank you very much discussion on

[9:28] article 7 questions or discussion

[9:32] yes um questioning the veterans

[9:35] homestead and tree

[9:36] for 90 000 i'm sorry

[9:39] i didn't i didn't know the veterans

[9:41] homestead in tree growth for nine thousand tree

[9:45] growth tree growth

[9:46] tree what tree growth it goes on to the

[9:48] next oh

[9:49] okay oh i didn't see the growth okay

[9:54] you okay yes any other questions

[9:57] discussion yeah

[9:58] what what's the loan proceeds

[10:03] [Music]

[10:05] wastewater treatment plant oh

[10:08] i think i could find it the town loan to

[10:11] the wastewater treatment plant that's

[10:12] our payback

[10:13] okay

[10:16] what's the growth recognition growth it

[10:19] goes with veterans homestead and tree

[10:21] growth

[10:23] that's one it wrapped around

[10:31] what's that any other discussion on

[10:34] article seven

[10:36] all those in favor of article seven

[10:39] thank you and those opposed

[10:41] article seven is scared

[10:42] [Applause]

[10:44] article 8 to see what sum of money the

[10:46] town will vote to raise and appropriate

[10:48] for administration in fy 21

[10:52] the amount the selectmen and budget

[10:54] committee recommend 225

[10:57] 523 dollars

[11:03] [Applause]

[11:08] thank you discussion about article 8.

[11:14] seeing none those in favor of article 8

[11:17] thank you and those opposed article 8 is

[11:20] carried in the amount recommended

[11:22] article 9 to see what sum of money the

[11:24] time will vote to raise and appropriate

[11:26] for the operation of town clerk

[11:27] department in fy 21

[11:29] budget committee and selectmen recommend

[11:31] 102 504.99

[11:41] thank you article 9 discussion on

[11:43] article 1

[11:46] i i just have a comment i wish we could

[11:49] see a

[11:50] percentage growth rate or change

[11:54] here that would help to analyze

[11:58] in this case the difference between 93.7

[12:01] and

[12:01] it's like about eight percent yeah it is

[12:04] but uh

[12:04] it went up because of mostly from

[12:06] elections we have to rent the legion

[12:08] hall for our elections

[12:09] before we used to use the school for

[12:11] nothing um

[12:12] we've had have to rent another voting

[12:15] machine

[12:16] so those are all more costs

[12:21] that's a helpful comment thank you

[12:26] another discussion on article 9.

[12:29] those in favor of article 9 in the

[12:31] amount of 102 500

[12:33] thank you and those opposed

[12:37] radicals carry those article 10 to see

[12:40] what sum of money the time will vote to

[12:41] raise and appropriate

[12:43] for the operation of the assessors

[12:44] department fy 21

[12:47] selectmen and budget committee recommend

[12:49] 50 500.

[12:53] [Music]

[12:56] thank you discussion about article 10

[13:01] seeing none of those in favor of article

[13:02] 10. thank you those opposed

[13:05] article 10 is carried in the amount of

[13:06] fifty thousand five hundred dollars

[13:08] article 11 to see what sum of money the

[13:10] town will vote to raise and appropriate

[13:12] for operation of the finance department

[13:14] in fy 21

[13:15] the selectmen the budget committee

[13:17] recommend 98 547

[13:26] thank you discussion on article 7 11.

[13:31] seeing none those in favor of article

[13:32] 11.

[13:34] thank you those opposed article 11

[13:37] is carried in the recommended amount

[13:40] article 12 to see what sum of money the

[13:42] town will vote to raise and appropriate

[13:44] for operation of the planning and

[13:45] development department in fiscal year

[13:47] 21.

[13:48] the selectmen of budget committee

[13:50] recommends 78 076 dollars

[13:58] second thank you discussion on article

[14:01] 12.

[14:02] what what is that change about what

[14:05] legal services

[14:07] you added a line to them for legal

[14:09] services

[14:15] of the other questions

[14:21] seeing none those in favor of article 12

[14:24] in the recommended amount

[14:25] thank you and those opposed article 12

[14:29] is carried in the recommended amount

[14:30] article 13 to see what sum of money the

[14:32] time will vote to raise and appropriate

[14:34] for operation of police services in

[14:36] fiscal year 21.

[14:38] selectmen and budget committee recommend

[14:39] 379 232 dollars

[14:57] do we have a reason why it's gone up aco

[15:00] went up

[15:01] 500 um police stayed the same

[15:05] they did not up their budget this year

[15:06] at all has there been any discussion of

[15:09] defunding the police

[15:14] in fact i think last year we increased

[15:16] the funding of the police

[15:17] to get more coverage towers so

[15:21] interesting question i'm talking in

[15:23] reference to the

[15:24] current political finance yeah okay

[15:27] right i seem to remember

[15:28] over the last few years that the police

[15:31] the cost to the town

[15:33] for police coverage has been going up

[15:35] pretty

[15:36] i would say dramatically i think i

[15:39] remember that and so

[15:40] this this is a very small increase

[15:44] and it seems laudable to me it seems

[15:46] fabulous that we can keep it fast

[15:49] that's not even inflation so that's good

[15:53] we do contribute about a quarter of the

[15:56] entire oxford county sheriff's

[15:57] department

[15:58] coverage i think i believe

[16:02] i don't have that written down with me

[16:04] but just for

[16:05] information purposes

[16:10] other discussion about article 13.

[16:14] seeing none those in favor of article 13

[16:16] in the recommended amount

[16:18] thank you and those opposed article 13

[16:22] is carried in the recommended amount

[16:23] article 14 to see what sum of money the

[16:26] time will vote

[16:26] for raising appropriate for the fire

[16:28] department in fiscal year 21

[16:30] the selectmen and budget committee

[16:31] recommend 247

[16:33] 550 dollars

[16:45] thank you discussion about article 14.

[16:50] that on the other hand looks a little

[16:52] you know an increase it looks like about

[16:54] four or five percent

[16:56] and um do we have a reason for that they

[16:58] uh call volume

[17:00] mutual aid and

[17:03] um wages for the firemen where the

[17:06] minimum wage went up

[17:09] we have them a little also

[17:10] [Music]

[17:14] another discussion article 14.

[17:18] seeing none of those in favor of article

[17:19] 14 in the recommended amount

[17:21] thank you and those opposed article 14

[17:24] is carried in the recommended amount

[17:26] article 15 to see what sum of money the

[17:28] town will vote to raise and appropriate

[17:30] for operation of the annual serve of the

[17:32] ambulance service in fiscal year 21

[17:35] the select rental budget committee

[17:36] recommend 300 2

[17:38] 883 on motion to move

[17:42] article 15 and the amount hundred and

[17:45] three thousand eight hundred

[17:46] eighty three dollars second thank you

[17:50] discussion about on article 15.

[17:54] it's the same question again it was

[17:56] wages from

[17:57] minimum wage went up had to keep the

[17:59] drivers

[18:00] ambulance attendants getting more than

[18:03] minimum wage

[18:06] for all the training and everything else

[18:08] that they have to do

[18:11] another discussion on article 15.

[18:15] seeing none of those in favor of article

[18:16] 15 in the recommended amount

[18:18] thank you and those opposed article 15

[18:22] is carried in the recommended amount

[18:24] article 16 to see what sum of money the

[18:26] town will vote to raise and appropriate

[18:28] for operation for the solid waste

[18:30] management program in fiscal year

[18:32] 21 select money budget committee

[18:35] recommend

[18:36] 495 411 dollars

[18:43] [Music]

[18:46] thank you discussion about article 16

[18:49] solid waste

[18:54] is there any ability

[19:07] but also there's a we've formed a

[19:10] committee

[19:11] we're trying to form a committee we're

[19:12] forming we formed a committee to look at

[19:14] solid waste

[19:14] throughout the three communities that

[19:17] participate in our solid way to try to

[19:19] get a handle on this

[19:22] [Music]

[19:23] and the other um that we increased was

[19:24] the food waste last year we only

[19:26] budgeted 9500 and this year we increased

[19:28] it to in 2000.

[19:30] dean richmond has been

[19:33] collecting food waste from multiple

[19:35] businesses and that saves us money yeah um on the

[19:41] solid waste

[19:42] right well because it removes the food

[19:44] waste from the more expensive trash

[19:46] do you have any sense of what the

[19:48] proportion is between residential

[19:51] construction demolition

[19:54] i don't have those figures in front of

[19:56] me but we can't get those from

[19:58] is bethel the only town in maine that

[20:00] lets contractors

[20:02] dispose of their demolition waste for

[20:04] free

[20:05] pretty much okay

[20:09] every tile handles things differently is

[20:11] that going to be reconsidered as the yes yeah is this mainly the volume going

[20:17] through there or is it

[20:18] the prices are going up to dispose of it

[20:20] also oh

[20:21] everything both yeah right down to the

[20:24] hauling and tipping fees

[20:30] other discussions

[20:33] all those in favor of article 16 in the

[20:36] recommended amount

[20:38] thank you and those opposed article 16

[20:40] carries in the recommended amounts

[20:43] article 17 to see what sum of money the

[20:45] time will vote for raising appropriate

[20:47] for operation of the public works

[20:49] department fiscal year 21.

[20:50] selectmen and budget committee

[20:52] recommends 603 731 dollars

[21:00] 731. thank you discussion on article 17

[21:06] public works

[21:10] seeing none those in favor of articles

[21:13] 17

[21:14] in the recommended amount thank you and

[21:16] those opposed

[21:16] [Applause]

[21:17] article 17 is carried in the recommended

[21:19] amount article 18

[21:21] to see what sum of money the town will

[21:22] vote to raise and appropriate for

[21:24] operation of the coal block in fiscal

[21:25] year 21

[21:27] the selectmen and budget committee

[21:28] recommend eight thousand one hundred and

[21:30] forty dollars

[21:36] seconded thank you discussion on article

[21:39] 18 cole block

[21:42] obviously this has nothing to do with

[21:44] reconstructing the

[21:46] front steps or anything correct that's a

[21:48] capital that's a capital expenditure

[21:50] this is just

[21:50] day to day

[21:54] how come it went down we put so much

[21:57] insulation and new windows over the last

[21:58] couple years doesn't cost as much to eat

[22:01] yeah utilities another discussion

[22:06] those in favor of are they called 18 in

[22:10] the recommended amount

[22:12] thank you and those opposed article 18

[22:14] carries in the recommended amount of

[22:15] article 19

[22:16] to see what summer money in the town

[22:18] will vote to raise and appropriate for

[22:19] the operation of the fire station in

[22:21] fiscal year 21

[22:22] selectmen and budget committee recommend

[22:24] 25 five dollars

[22:32] discussion on article 19 fire station

[22:38] sitting on those in favor of article 19

[22:40] as as

[22:42] proposed thank you and those opposed

[22:46] 19 carries in the recommended amount

[22:48] article 21 to see what sum of money the

[22:50] time will vote to raise and appropriate

[22:52] for the operation of the town garage in

[22:54] fiscal year 21

[22:55] the selectmen the budget committee

[22:56] recommend 22 600 dollars

[23:06] discussion on article 20 town garage

[23:11] seeing on those in favor of article 20.

[23:14] thank you and those opposed

[23:15] article 20 is carried in the recommended

[23:17] amount article 21

[23:18] you see what sum of money in the town

[23:20] will vote to raise inappropriate for

[23:21] operation of green leaf station fiscal

[23:23] year 21

[23:24] select when the budget committee

[23:25] recommends 17 380 dollars

[23:36] thank you discussion on article 21

[23:38] greenleaf station

[23:39] in the back the ambulance garage

[23:52] any discussion all those in favor of

[23:54] article 21 in the recommended amount

[23:57] thank you and those opposed article 21

[23:59] is carried in the recommended amount

[24:01] article 22 to see what summer money the

[24:03] time will vote to raise and appropriate

[24:05] for operation of the general assistance

[24:07] program in fiscal year 21.

[24:11] selectmen and budget committee recommend

[24:15] [Music]

[24:16] amount of 2500 record discussion

[24:20] what is what does that go to this in the

[24:23] back

[24:24] how much of it got used last year

[24:27] the question was how much was used last

[24:30] year

[24:32] did use quite a bit last year and i

[24:34] didn't have that right

[24:35] now dave it's if someone has a

[24:38] if someone you apply for it if you have

[24:41] an interesting financial need

[24:44] and it's like it's basically a pass

[24:46] through the state gives us twenty five

[24:47] hundred dollars

[24:48] that we can give out

[24:51] do we anticipate higher needs this year

[24:54] due to the pandemic

[24:56] should be more this number's been there

[24:59] for decades yeah amy's got the amount

[25:01] that was spent well it's an unusual year

[25:02] that's what yeah yeah

[25:03] last year we used 1 700 2.95

[25:07] of that thank you

[25:10] other discussion

[25:14] all those in favor of article 22 in the

[25:16] recommended amount

[25:17] thank you and those opposed motion

[25:20] article 22 carries in the recommended

[25:22] amount article 23

[25:24] to see what sum of money the town will

[25:25] vote to raise and appropriate for

[25:26] operation

[25:27] of the recreation board in fiscal year

[25:29] 21 the selectmen and budget committee

[25:31] recommends

[25:32] 51 800.

[25:35] [Music]

[25:40] discussion of article 23 rec board

[25:43] [Music]

[25:45] seeing none those in favor of article 23

[25:47] in the recommended amount

[25:48] and those opposed thank you article 23

[25:51] carries in the recommended amount

[25:53] article 24 to see what sum of money the

[25:55] town will vote to raise

[25:57] and appropriate for operation of

[25:58] angevine park in fiscal year 21

[26:01] selectmen and budget committee recommend

[26:03] 13 440.130.

[26:13] discussion on article 24 and divine park

[26:19] seeing none those in favor of article 24

[26:21] in the recommended amount

[26:23] thank you and those opposed article 24

[26:26] is carried in the recommended amount

[26:27] article 25 to see what sum of money in

[26:29] the town will vote to raise and

[26:30] appropriate

[26:31] for operation of fountain park and

[26:33] cemetery in fiscal year 21

[26:36] select when the budget committee

[26:37] recommend thirteen thousand seven

[26:38] hundred sixty dollars

[26:43] forward to fifteen thousand seven

[26:44] hundred fifty dollars

[26:47] discussion on article 25 park and

[26:50] cemetery

[26:56] last year we had 10 000 for the pathway

[26:58] in there

[26:59] and then we had 3 000 for the skate park

[27:04] other question where's the cemetery

[27:10] is that the one on the river we have a lot of subjects oh that's

[27:16] awesome okay okay

[27:19] other questions all those in favor of

[27:21] article 25 and the recommended amount

[27:24] thank you and those opposed article 25

[27:26] carries in the recommended amount

[27:29] article 26 to see what sum of money in

[27:31] the town will vote to raise

[27:32] inappropriate for contributions local

[27:35] in fiscal year 21 and you can read the

[27:39] itemized list of 83 450

[27:44] as recommended by the selectmen and

[27:45] budget committee

[27:49] do we have a motion motion to move the

[27:52] article

[27:53] as spoken for 83

[27:56] 450 seconds

[28:00] discussion yes

[28:04] right here um what's the deal with the

[28:06] snowmobile trails

[28:08] instead of curiosity i see this year was

[28:11] 1178 and this year's zero

[28:17] we send out letters for them to send

[28:19] back saying that they want the request

[28:20] and they never

[28:21] send it back okay

[28:25] good question another question

[28:29] seeing none all those in favor of

[28:31] article 26 in the amount of 83

[28:33] 450 thank you and those opposed

[28:36] article 26 carries in the recommended

[28:39] amount

[28:40] article 27 to see what sum of money that

[28:42] i'm about to raise and appropriate

[28:44] the contributions agencies in fiscal

[28:46] year 21

[28:48] and you can see the itemized list the

[28:50] selectmen and budget committee

[28:51] recommend eleven thousand seven hundred

[28:53] twelve dollars

[29:03] discussion on article 27 contributions

[29:06] agencies

[29:10] seeing none those in favor of article 27

[29:13] thank you very much those opposed

[29:16] article 27 is carried in the recommended

[29:18] amount

[29:19] article 28 to see what sum of money the

[29:21] time will vote to raise and appropriate

[29:23] for employee benefits in fiscal year 21.

[29:26] the selectmen and budget committee

[29:27] recommend 473

[29:29] 669 dollars

[29:34] 473

[29:38] second discussion

[29:41] so do we just have more employees are we

[29:45] giving them more benefits what what's

[29:48] the

[29:48] we have the same benefits insurances

[29:50] went up some

[29:52] and we got a few more family

[29:56] families i should say not an individual

[29:58] so

[30:00] family insurance coverage yes thank you

[30:03] workmen's comp insurance and

[30:05] unemployment insurance also increased

[30:07] greatly

[30:08] that's not an employee benefit is it uh

[30:11] it's where it's under i do

[30:12] yes it is okay what's been the trend

[30:16] over the last say

[30:17] five years

[30:23] i mean it's and it's driven more than

[30:25] anything by health insurance

[30:32] further discussion i'm done you're done

[30:36] stick your fork in other discussion

[30:41] all those in favor of article 28 and

[30:44] recommended amount

[30:45] thank you and those of us article 28

[30:48] carries in the recommended amount

[30:50] article 29 to see what sum of money

[30:52] the time will vote to raise and

[30:53] appropriate for municipal insurance

[30:55] in fiscal year 21 the selectmen and

[30:58] budget committee recommend 51

[31:00] 463 dollars

[31:04] [Applause]

[31:07] [Music]

[31:08] [Applause]

[31:09] thank you very much discussion of

[31:11] article 29

[31:13] is this liability insurance

[31:17] yes thank you

[31:19] [Applause]

[31:21] other discussion all those in favor of

[31:25] article 29 in the recommended amount

[31:28] thank you and those opposed

[31:31] article 29 carries in the recommended

[31:33] amount radical 30 to see what sum of

[31:34] money in the town will vote to raise and

[31:36] appropriate

[31:37] for debt service in fiscal year 21

[31:39] second budget committee recommend 98

[31:41] 637 dollars and 13 cents

[31:57] thank you discussion on article 30 debt

[31:59] service

[32:01] probably not much wiggle room there it's

[32:04] gone down a little bit it went down we

[32:06] paid off debt all those in favor of

[32:09] article 30 and the recommended amount

[32:12] and those opposed thank you article

[32:14] theory carries the recommended amount

[32:16] article 31 to see what sum of money the

[32:18] time will vote to raise and appropriate

[32:20] from undesignated book time out see what

[32:23] sum of money the town will vote to

[32:24] appropriate

[32:25] from its undesignated fund balance to

[32:27] reduce fy

[32:28] 20 commitment the selectmen and the

[32:31] budget committee recommend one hundred

[32:32] thousand dollars

[32:34] [Music]

[32:34] [Applause]

[32:39] is there a what discussion it last year

[32:44] what was it what was the undesignated

[32:46] fund balance reduction last year

[32:48] i think it was 100 amy's chicken but i

[32:51] think it was 100 000 i don't think it

[32:52] was 200 though

[33:08] what does that believe in the

[33:10] undesignated fund

[33:11] say it again what does it leave in the

[33:13] undesignated fund

[33:16] what's the balance of the uh undesirable

[33:18] balance right now is two million four

[33:19] hundred and eighty four thousand four

[33:21] hundred forty four dollars and two

[33:22] seconds

[33:27] [Music]

[33:29] is that a reasonable place to be i mean

[33:33] somewhere this is being debated

[33:36] and a hundred thousand seems like a

[33:38] reasonable amount to to a sign like this personally this

[33:42] year i wouldn't go any higher than a

[33:43] hundred thousand

[33:46] because we don't know what's going to be

[33:47] happening more than normal would recover

[33:50] and but then again our revenues we've

[33:53] been doing very well on our revenues

[33:55] so what was our fun balance last year

[33:58] right right around the same it wasn't i

[34:00] thought it was a million eight something

[34:02] i think you might be right what was the

[34:04] balance last year

[34:06] yeah i don't remember two million but um

[34:10] amy is that something you can garner no

[34:13] i i don't have it with me

[34:14] i'm sorry thank you wait what what was

[34:16] the year over here in christina

[34:21] say the question again the

[34:22] year-over-year increase in revenue

[34:34] the only thing that comes to my mind

[34:35] right now is is excise tax

[34:38] we thought with the covenant we'd be

[34:39] hurt in an excise tax and we're actually

[34:42] above what we projected for last year we predicted 500 000 and we've

[34:46] already got six

[34:48] people have nothing else to do but pay

[34:49] their exit is that sure

[34:51] well the thing is they're buying new

[34:52] cars with zero percent interest in 90

[34:54] days don't pay me

[34:57] that being said there are also many

[34:59] revenues that are less than what we

[35:01] expect i think

[35:02] like from the state um their low

[35:04] resistance program we did not receive as

[35:06] much as expected

[35:07] our revenues are pretty much spot on to

[35:09] what we thought they were going to be

[35:11] this last year i guess i had the

[35:13] experience subjectively you see

[35:15] huge homes being built in town and you

[35:17] would expect that the property tax

[35:18] revenue is

[35:19] increasing but i don't actually know if

[35:21] that's true or not

[35:24] that doesn't necessarily increase the

[35:27] revenue to the town per se it just

[35:31] so that you take the entire property

[35:34] value and you divide it

[35:36] by what we decide we need so it doesn't

[35:39] and if we if we calculate that correctly

[35:41] then we take in

[35:43] just the money that we need it might

[35:45] mean that your property taxes

[35:47] could theoretically go down if we

[35:48] re-evaluate if we revalue all the

[35:50] properties

[35:52] but it doesn't necessarily mean that

[35:54] because the assessors are still going to

[35:56] go through

[35:56] and adjust the mill rate yes for

[35:59] everybody

[36:00] but if someone takes a hundred thousand

[36:01] dollar lot and builds a million dollar

[36:03] home on it

[36:04] there's addition there's added value

[36:06] which is then

[36:07] taxed correct right but in in the

[36:10] meantime that the assessors would then

[36:12] probably say that we everyone needs to

[36:15] pay a smaller percentage of tax because

[36:17] to meet the goal

[36:18] [Music]

[36:21] but i i won't promise that will happen

[36:23] that's just theoretically what should

[36:25] if if if the property value

[36:29] grows then the tax mill rate should

[36:32] increase

[36:34] but it doesn't as long as the budget

[36:36] doesn't fill up

[36:39] so we're growing in proportion to our

[36:42] expenses

[36:42] right right because the contractors were

[36:45] building those million dollar homes are

[36:46] dumping all the construction waste from

[36:48] the uh

[36:50] transportation if we pass the budget

[36:54] as presented here is it up or down from

[36:58] last year

[37:00] the budget itself is down

[37:04] so the question on the floor is the

[37:06] amount of the undesignated fund balance

[37:08] to be attributed to

[37:09] pay down taxes this year the recommended

[37:12] amount is a hundred thousand dollars is

[37:13] that further discussion

[37:17] [Music]

[37:19] okay all those in favor of articles

[37:22] 31 in the amount of a hundred thousand

[37:24] dollars thank you and those opposed

[37:26] article 31 is carried in the amount of

[37:29] 31 000

[37:31] of 100 sorry

[37:34] article 32 to see what some of the money

[37:37] in the town will vote to raise an

[37:38] appropriate

[37:39] capital improvements in fiscal year 21.

[37:42] the selectmen and budget committee

[37:44] recommend 800 6374

[37:48] i know vertical 32 for 806 374.

[37:52] second thank you you can see the

[37:55] uh recommended capital expenditures

[37:58] as compared to last year discussion on

[38:01] capital expenditures article 32.

[38:08] [Music]

[38:12] the question was did we pace chapman

[38:13] street last year we did but it has to

[38:15] set a year and then you paid

[38:17] do the top coat

[38:20] i have a question about the water

[38:22] district building

[38:25] the 10 000 just like what you're

[38:27] expecting someone to bid

[38:29] to do that i mean yeah that

[38:33] demolition demolition oh yeah that's

[38:36] demolition that was the estimate i got

[38:37] from some contractors to go dump it in

[38:40] our dump for free

[38:43] i wonder if they have to take it yet

[38:46] yeah

[38:46] we pay them too it seems like we'll take

[38:48] care of us though uh he said that was

[38:50] he said it wouldn't be any more than

[38:52] that that's good but that was yeah

[38:57] there's a question in the back yeah

[39:00] could you tell me what the cardiac

[39:02] monster is please i'm sorry i can't hear

[39:04] you can you tell me what the cardiac

[39:06] monitor is cardiac motor

[39:09] so the cardiac monitor is actually for

[39:12] a reserve and it really is to try to

[39:15] gain money

[39:16] for future cardiac monitors and

[39:18] ambulances

[39:19] instead of it all coming out in one year

[39:21] we thought it'd be better to try to

[39:23] spread and

[39:24] you know basically accumulate some funds

[39:25] for that

[39:34] kind of a question to you lord and maybe

[39:37] also to the to the project me and i'm

[39:39] assuming that this has been

[39:41] debated but i can't tell from this

[39:43] whether we're going

[39:44] up or whether we're flat or whether

[39:46] we're going down in terms of way

[39:48] of the way we are maintaining our

[39:50] infrastructure around town

[39:52] particularly paving bridges those kind

[39:55] of

[39:56] can you give me some kind of read on

[39:58] that

[39:59] i can't because i haven't been doing

[40:01] this long enough to give you too much

[40:02] information but yeah scott can you

[40:04] answer the part of that on the favorite

[40:07] part

[40:08] we typically try to plan somewhere in

[40:09] the neighborhood of four hundred

[40:10] thousand dollars with the road mark each

[40:12] year

[40:13] we've been consistently kind of close to

[40:15] that

[40:18] yeah my question my question is really a

[40:19] sort of subjective look at

[40:21] are we doing okay with this are we not

[40:24] doing okay at maintaining the place

[40:27] what's the sense i see from what i've

[40:30] seen

[40:30] i think they're doing a good job at

[40:32] maintaining

[40:34] so then we're allocating enough money on

[40:36] an annual basis

[40:38] and we're keeping it okay question does

[40:40] that reflect your view

[40:42] yes

[40:44] [Music]

[40:50] i think we're making a difference that's

[40:53] my opinion

[40:55] thank you what are the

[40:58] numbers behind the paving

[41:02] items numbers

[41:17] other questions on capital expenditures

[41:19] yes

[41:20] where does the choice of roads that are

[41:23] being paved come from

[41:27] we have a road program that we develop

[41:31] some sort of a plan

[41:33] um we're nearing the end of that plan

[41:35] it's

[41:36] spelled out a five-year capital plan

[41:38] right now

[41:39] um we've tried to

[41:43] gain another committee like a road

[41:45] committee to re-survey the roads and

[41:48] the state state provided us with a

[41:49] program you may put the information and

[41:51] spits out

[41:52] this is where you should start first so

[41:54] we can let you know

[41:55] so we've been trying to work through

[41:57] that program so okay because

[41:59] the west end of grover hill has been

[42:01] unpaid

[42:02] for many many many years ah yeah it's

[42:05] probably three four years now we've got

[42:07] one more section we need to dig up

[42:09] um you do the traffic study mobile hill

[42:11] road doesn't seem

[42:13] that many cars compared to in a railroad

[42:16] it isn't a total justification but

[42:19] um road priority road traffic move

[42:23] all all things have factors and what

[42:25] you've done first

[42:26] we had to do javascript

[42:30] things we got to move things around i

[42:31] guess we've gotten pushed off the last

[42:34] yeah i think it was supposed to be in

[42:35] the plan this year we pushed it off for

[42:37] another year with

[42:38] the chapman street classroom and trying

[42:40] to catch up to that

[42:42] but i think it's been closer to five

[42:44] years that it's been

[42:45] taken up yeah and there's there's going

[42:48] to be a couple more sections that will

[42:49] be

[42:50] need to reclaim before we can pay that

[42:52] cut

[42:55] other questions on the capital program

[42:59] seeing none those in favor of article 32

[43:01] and the recommended amount

[43:03] thank you and those opposed article 32

[43:06] is buried in the recommended amount

[43:09] [Applause]

[43:10] any

[43:14] [Applause]

[43:21] it carries thank you very much

[43:26] [Music]

Bethel Maine Town Meeting 2020

Transcript