The Raymond Select Board has forwarded a series of warrant articles regarding the 2024-2025 budget for including on the ballot at the Annual Town Meeting on June 11, but the $19.178 million budget proposal itself is not without controversy.
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| This fiscal year's proposed Municipal Appropriations budget for Raymond is $7,371,051. Last year's budget approved by voters at the Annual Town Meeting was $6,685,997. PHOTO BY ED PIERCE |
Select Board Chair Joe Bruno said he believed Budget Finance Committee members were misinformed about the Public Works proposal and did not follow parliamentary procedure in voting the way they did.
“All our town committees follow Roberts Rules of Parliamentary Procedure,” he said. “The vote they took was illegal. This is a well thought out plan for a new Public Works Building that has been in the works for years.”
Bruno said the new Public Works facility is badly needed and will be of great benefit to the town if the warrant article is approved.
Denis Morse, a Budget Finance member, said that committee members are not opposed to building a new Public Works facility per se, but wanted an opportunity to review schematics, blueprints, cost estimates and other pertinent documents before recommending the warrant article for a public vote.
“That never happened,” Morse said. “There needs to be a neutral needs assessment to see what our needs actually are,” he said.
According to Morse, after a first vote on the Public Works construction warrant article was held, a question arose if it was taken properly and committee members asked Town Manager Susan Look for guidance about how to take a proper vote. Once given, committee members voted again and once more unanimously rejected recommending the warrant article.
That vote was illegal, Bruno said.
“They needed to rescind that vote and not approve it,” he said. “I really do think the people of Raymond should know the town has an excellent AAA bond rating and we are retiring $285,000 debt payment. In funding this, we will still stay financially strong.”
Morse pointed out that during the Budget Finance Committee meeting Bruno was in attendance and could have advised them that their vote was improper.
In formulating her proposal, Look said it is her first try at putting together an extensive town budget.
“This being my first go-round with the full Town of Raymond budget, I wanted to see the whole budget, the way it has been put together, and then meet with each department head to get a better understanding of each piece before I attempted to summarize,” she said. “On the revenue side we have an estimated $9,000,000 in new valuation.”
Look said Auto Excise Tax, CEO/Planning Fees, Public Safety/Rescue and Investment Income are projected to increase by a total of $213,000.
“Our valuation certified ratio is currently at 62 percent, so the Homestead Exemption is expected to be reduced by $34,726,” Look said. “The revaluation process will begin this fall and should be completed for the 2025 Commitment. This is reflected in the Assessing request to have more hours for the administrative assistant. Codes will be adding the Street and Sub-Division Ordinances to the General Code software this year. This software allows homeowners, builders, appraisers, other municipalities, etc. to search through the ordinances, will standardize the formatting, and will give us a list of inconsistencies or discrepancies that we need to address.”
Look said the town has already added the Land Use and Shoreland Zoning Ordinances and in future years they will continue until all similar ordinances have been added including the new Building Code, Flood Plain, and the Business License Ordinances.
“I have met with the Town Managers of Casco and Naples several times recently and we are working to rewrite the memorandum of understanding and the job description for the regional Animal Control Officer,” she said. “We are also talking with the Town Manager of Harrison and are considering hiring a part-time ACO so we will have seven-day coverage while allowing regular days off for the employees. As an update, Public Safety has had word that their new rescue/pumper truck approved at the 2022 Town Meeting should be ready in 2025.”
She said that Fire Chief Bruce Tupper has been talking with Sebago Fiber about using the broadband initiative to increase radio coverage.
“There are still areas of Raymond that have no coverage,” Look said. “Their budget request includes money to cover overtime due to medical leaves, vacation, etc. coverage and the unpredictability of emergency calls. As you know there has been a committee looking at bringing broadband access to Raymond.”
Look also said she’s been in discussions with the town attorney about the possibility of using TIF monies for some of the cost and hope to have more information about what that entails soon.
“For Debt Services, there have not yet been any expenses paid from the bond that was approved at last year’s Town Meeting,” Look said. “The work done thus far at Tassel Top on the Snack Shack replacement has been covered by ARPA monies, once these have been expended the project will rely on the bond. The improvements to Shari Gagnon Park are scheduled to begin in the Fall of 2024. The tipping fees and contract prices have increased this year by a total of $42,605.”
Public Works also had to go back out to bid for a mowing contract as the previous company decided to stop doing mowing altogether, Look said.
“All indications thus far are that the mowing will be significantly more than in past years. Parks & Rec is looking to delete the half position that was in budget last year and add a full-time position of Assistant Parks & Rec Director who will work with the Director, in particular running the Summer Camp program,” she said. “The year-round variety of programs has been gaining in popularity each year, especially in the summer season.”
The Raymond Village Library only requested a 1.86 percent increase.
They have been awarded grants, the Friends of RVL have been very generous with their efforts, and they could not continue without the support of their many volunteers.
“The end result is we are proposing an overall increase of 10.69 percent or $714,536 and $276,000 of which is the bond payment approved at last year’s Town Meeting,” Look said. “The rest of the budget increased by 6.56 percent.”
The Raymond budget warrant articles do not include Cumberland County or RSU 14 warrant articles. <
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