Windham residents approve 2024-2025 municipal budget

By Ed Pierce

Windham voters approved a municipal budget of $34,922,971 for 2024-2025 and other associated warrant articles during the annual town meeting on June 15 at the Windham Town Hall Auditorium.

Windham Town Councilors vote for a warrant article during
the Annual Town Meeting on Saturday, June 15 at Windham
Town Hall. From left are Councilors John Henry, Bill
Reiner, David Nadeau, Jarrod Maxfield, and Nick
Kalogerakis. PHOTO BY ED PIERCE 

Warrant articles also approved during the meeting authorized the issuance of general obligation bonds up to $13 million to finance the design, engineering, construction and an analysis of operations and assessments for a sewer system to serve RSU 14’s campus including Windham High School, Windham Middle School and Windham Primary School. Another warrant article that voters supported is the execution of agreements with the Portland Water District in connection with the financing, constriction, ownership, operation and maintenance of the RSU 14 campus sewer system.

Windham Town Manager Barry Tibbetts said these actions are part of Phase 2 of Windham’s installation of sewers as approved by voters during a referendum in June 2022.

He said this new system will result in the existing Wastewater Treatment Plant at Windham High School being closed and the new plant at Windham Middle School will be used to pump wastewater to the new treatment facility at Manchester School in North Windham.

According to Tibbetts, Phase 1 of the sewer installation has about a $4 million shortfall because of construction cost and materials increases, but a warrant article approved by voters at this meeting allows the town to issue a bond of $4 million through the state’s Clean Water State Revolving Loan Fund. In doing that, the shortfall will have no impact for taxpayers.

Tibbetts said the new municipal budget will also allow the town to add four new firefighter/emergency medical technicians, two of them funded in the budget and two funded by grant.

“The intent is to reduce overtime and per diem costs of firefighters and EMTs,” he said.

Other town personnel actions approved in this new budget include hiring a Public Works Operational Manager to offer more efficiency for that department and making the Windham Police Department’s Community Resource Liaison a full-time position. The Community Resource Liaison position provides additional support to individuals struggling with mental health or substance use and up to now has been a shared position between the Windham and Gorham Police Departments.

Funding approved in the budget also will allow the Windham Fire/Rescue Department to purchase new self-contained breathing apparatus and equipment for $535,000 and to acquire land located at Cherry Lane adjacent to Gambo Soccer Fields for $750,000. The new budget also includes up to $750,000 for the paving and repair of 10 local roads.

The budget also awards $850,000 to the Windham Fire/Rescue Department to purchase a new fire engine, up to $400,000 for adding additional space and making improvements at Smith Cemetery. Funding included in the budget also will allow the town to complete work on the heating and cooling systems at Windham Town Hall, create new additional trails at the East Windham Conservation Area, award town employees a 4 percent wage increase and to finish sidewalk projects under way in South Windham along Gray Road.

Approval of the budget also authorizes $3.5 million to create a sidewalk on Windham Center Road from Windham High School extending to the site of the new Windham Middle School. Tibbetts said $1.2 million of that cost will come from grants, so that expense will be reduced when completed.

After the meeting, Tibbetts said work on formulating the annual town budget began in December and proceeded to a goal-setting session with Windham Town Council members in January. In February, Tibbetts met with town department heads to streamline budget requests before the Windham Finance Committee reviewed the preliminary budget before it was formally presented at a Town Council meeting in April and a Public Hearing was conducted at a town council meeting in May.

“Now that the budget has been approved by voters, we have to get to work,” Tibbetts said. “There’s a lot of nice things in this budget but there’s a lot of work left to be done.”

He said among things still to be decided in the future are choosing the best location for a new fire station and what to do with the current Windham Middle School building once the new Windham Middle School building opens.

At the start of the town meeting, Windham resident and former Windham Town Council member Tim Nangle, who currently serves as a Maine State Senator, was elected as moderator to preside over the gathering. <