Town Meeting 2016

2016-04-02 · Town Meeting · 1:54:01 · watch on YouTube →

Annual town meeting for 2016, held the day after the town election with Gary Wood as moderator in what he said was about his 34th year in the post. The meeting opened with the introduction of Joshua Klein-Golden as a moderator in training, a prayer, the Denise Laflam scholarship appeal, the election results and the Spirit of America award. The town then spent most of the morning rejecting four separate proposals to move budget voting off the town meeting floor: article 5, requiring a written ballot on anything over $40,000, and articles 36 to 39, which would have sent articles over $50,000 to a secret ballot referendum after town meeting and moved town meeting to March. A motion to take up article 33, the state tax levy limit, out of order also failed on a standing count. The meeting then worked through the spending articles, zeroing the RSU 5 withdrawal committee because the withdrawal referendum had been defeated the day before, appropriating $195,587 from undesignated funds to correct a 2015 commitment error, and passing administration, animal control, assessing, cemeteries, conservation, social service agency donations and two Eureka Community Center articles. The recording ends part way into article 16.

No written minutes could be matched to this meeting. The transcript records that the speaker changed but never who was speaking, so any name attached to a statement below is inferred from context and is marked (?).

What was discussed

1. 0:08
   Moderator and a moderator in training

   Gary Wood, elected moderator the previous day, introduced Joshua Klein-Golden, a Durham resident and a lawyer in Lisbon Falls, who has agreed to phase in and run some articles next year as a step towards taking over the position. Gary Wood (?) said he had held it about 34 years and could still jump off the stage, but not for much longer, and congratulated Joshua Klein-Golden on the birth of his daughter two days earlier.

2. 0:08
   Opening prayer and remembrance

   Pastor Ron Parker gave the prayer after the pledge of allegiance, and announced a car show at Shiloh Chapel on June 4 to benefit the Lake food pantry in Lisbon Falls, run by nine churches and serving Bowdoin, Lisbon and Durham. The meeting held a moment of silence for the four people the town report is dedicated to, among them John White, the town's administrative assistant for nine years, who died on March 25.

3. 5:51
   A 52-year run broken

   The moderator noted that Connie, who has lost her husband, was missing town meeting for the first time in 52 years.

4. 5:51
   Denise Laflam scholarship

   Lee Fischer (?) spoke about the scholarship created in memory of Denise Laflam, who was born and raised in Durham, was PTA president, a selectman for years and a substitute teacher for over 20 years, and who died of pancreatic cancer. The money is raised by a quilt raffle, and last year's $1,200 award, nearly all of it raised in Durham, went to a student now at Wheaton College who attended three high schools during her school career. Bob Small opened the collection with $5 and a challenge to everyone else.

5. 5:51
   Ground rules

   The moderator set out how the meeting runs: speak to the motion on the floor, state your name, where you live and your position, and do not make remarks personal. Because the budget committee and selectmen agreed on every article this year, he asked Jeff Wakeman (?) to make the motions with a second from another selectman.

6. 10:58
   Voting procedure

   Voting is by blue card, which had to be collected at registration and is handed back at the end as a cost saving. Calling the question requires a motion and a second and a separate vote before the main question is put. Negative motions are not taken, but anyone who thinks an item is wrongly funded can move a different figure, which is voted up or down before another figure can be moved. Where a card count is too close the moderator takes a standing count, and at least one article that day would need a written ballot.

7. 16:01
   Election results

   Jeff Wakeman (?) was elected selectman with 500 votes and Mark Blake with 388, Wade Caplinger (?) receiving 217 and a fourth candidate 121. Kevin Nadeau was elected to the budget committee with 671 votes, with two write-in candidates elected on 62 and 57 votes. Michelle Richardson was elected to the RSU board of directors with 650. The referendum question was defeated 595 to 259, on 870 ballots cast.

8. 16:01
   Scholarship and Spirit of America awards

   The 2016 Town of Durham scholarship of $1,000 was presented to Bailey Kins (?). The Spirit of America award went to the First Congregational Church of Durham, and specifically to Julie Wagner and Betty Catel (?), for work with the home heating fund: Betty Catel (?) founded the Warm Winter Walk at least 14 years ago, which gave half its proceeds to the fund and all of them last year, and the church council started Tuesday community lunches for a two to four dollar donation. Betty Catel (?) died during the year and her award was accepted by her husband Charlie.

9. 21:15
   Article 4: rules of order

   The town voted to adopt the Maine Moderator's Manual rules of procedure, sixth edition, as the rules of order for the meeting, without discussion.

10. 21:15
    Tax impact of the budget

    Jeff Wakeman (?) said that if everything else stayed the same, the budget being presented would raise the mill rate about 1.03, or 5.9 percent: about 0.53 or 3 percent from the increase in the budget itself and about 0.5 or 2.9 percent from a clerical error to be discussed later. The county appropriation change adds about 0.05, or 0.3 percent. None of it takes account of the RSU 5 budget or of the homestead exemption rising from $10,000 to $15,000, which could itself push the mill rate up because the state covers only half of it.

11. 21:15
    Non-residents allowed to speak

    The meeting voted to let five non-residents speak: Ruth Glazier, the town's administrative assistant, road commissioner Calvin Beaumier, the code enforcement officer, Sheriff Samson (?), and Elizabeth Haffy (?) of Community Concepts.

12. 21:15
    Article 5: written ballot over $40,000

    The article asked whether all warrant articles over $40,000 should be voted by written ballot, excluding contracts and bonds the town had already entered into in good faith. The moderator explained it came from the alternative warrant committee and applied only to this meeting, not to future ones. Michelle Richardson (?) asked how much time it would add and was told 10 to 15 minutes per vote across perhaps six or seven articles, so one to two hours.

13. 26:29
    Argument over the written ballot

    Kevin Nadeau, speaking for himself rather than the budget committee, counted 13 articles that would qualify, close to four hours of extra meeting time, and said anyone can already move for a written ballot on a particular article rather than boxing the town in. Alice McPeek (?) said people are intimidated about speaking and that a written ballot had changed the outcome of a vote the previous year, and recalled that a single person used to be able to call for a secret ballot; the moderator said the rule has always required a motion, a second and a majority vote, though the practice before his time may have differed.

14. 26:29
    How to call for a written ballot

    Neil Berry (?) asked how it is done. The moderator explained that after an article is moved and seconded anyone may move for a written ballot, it needs a second, and the meeting votes on that motion; if it fails the vote is by card, and the moderator himself can call for a written ballot when a card or standing count is too close to call.

15. 31:37
    Article 5 fails

    The motion to pass article 5 was put and failed on a card vote.

16. 31:37
    Articles 36 to 39 taken out of order

    At Kevin Nadeau's suggestion, and because the discussion would be essentially the same, the meeting voted by the required two thirds to take articles 36 to 39 up out of order. These would have sent certain spending articles to a referendum ballot at the polls, as elected offices are voted on.

17. 31:37
    Article 36 introduced

    The article asked the town to recommend holding a secret ballot referendum election under title 30-A and title 21-A, after town meeting in 2017, to approve all warrant articles over $50,000, excluding contracts and bonds already entered into and initial votes to approve bonds. A note recorded that it is advisory only and not binding on the selectmen without a charter.

18. 31:37
    The case for it

    Donna, who worked on the committee, said the whole point was to let people vote who cannot come to town meeting: spouses without a babysitter, construction workers who work Saturday mornings, people with emergencies. The committee looked at how other towns do it and had to build in absentee and secret ballots, which is what made a simple idea complicated, while wanting to avoid adopting a charter.

19. 36:47
    Cost and turnout

    Heather Roy (?) asked what it would cost. If everything passed on one ballot there would be no additional cost beyond possible printing, since it would be the same day as the municipal election, but a second vote on any article that failed was put at about $1,000. Alice McPeek (?) said last year's town meeting drew around 130 people out of over 3,000 entitled to vote in Durham, so less than one percent were deciding everybody's taxes.

20. 41:59
    What happens when an article fails

    Michelle Richardson (?) asked what would follow if some articles failed. Alice McPeek (?) said the committee understood it to be a yes or no choice, yes being the selectmen and budget committee recommendation and no meaning last year's budget. Kevin Nadeau (?) said that is not what the warrant articles actually say: the following articles would let the town spend only up to an average of the previous three years, which for most lines is less than last year, and he asked what happens when the selectmen and budget committee disagree.

21. 41:59
    Losing the ability to amend

    A resident said that voting no in a booth gives no information about whether people thought a figure too high or too low, and that after an unusual one-off expense a no vote would mean going back to a large prior year number. She and Michelle Richardson both said they supported the goal of wider participation but were not convinced this was the way. The moderator confirmed the articles are advisory and that a charter is not needed to do it, but would be needed to make it binding.

22. 47:33
    Would it reach the people it is meant for

    Anne Torregrossa (?) said the plan puts the town meeting in the middle of the voting window, so the people who need the secret ballot are the ones who will not be at the meeting where the fire chief explains the new fire truck. She added that town meeting allows the flexible approach of amending $200,000 to $150,000 on the floor rather than going back to the polls.

23. 47:33
    Donna's answer on how the number would be chosen

    Donna (?) said the complication came from trying to avoid a charter, and described a plan to alternate between the selectmen's and the budget committee's figures article by article, with a three-year average as the fallback. Kevin Nadeau (?) said he was troubled by alternating whose recommendation goes before the voters, since the point of having both bodies is to put two options and their arguments to the community. Donna (?) said she had not explained it well and that it was every other article rather than every other year.

24. 53:00
    Residents for and against

    Jane Rice (?) suggested putting the videotaped meeting on the public channel so voters could inform themselves beforehand, and was told it could be up within a couple of days. Paula Erdman (?) of Hallowell Road (?) said it would change the town's form of government and that attending is a civic duty. Eric Bowie (?) said that fifty years ago, when the town budget was perhaps $100,000, a civil conversation was easier, and that 130 people deciding a municipal budget of about $4 million may not be the way to proceed, adding that meetings have become contentious enough that people stay away.

25. 58:56
    A voter guide and a duty to attend

    Mike Fair of Pinkham Road (?) described the voter guides where he moved from, printed on lightweight recycled paper with pro and con discussion, and said he had only been able to read the report while waiting in line that morning. Chuck Pollock (?) said that even allowing 10 percent for emergencies there are thousands who are choosing not to come, that changing the method will not change that, and that he values the back and forth. Roland Reed, who moved from Warner Robins, Georgia, said he had already chosen his selectmen at the ballot box and did not think the town needed to tie their hands.

26. 58:56
    Procedure if articles fail on the ballot

    Asked what would be required if some articles failed, the answer was that another 30 days would be needed for absentee balloting, though no further public hearing is required. It was also explained that the municipal officer elections could be held after town meeting, as they used to be when the meeting had to adjourn by 3 p.m. so the polls could open.

27. 1:04:28
    Why $40,000 was chosen, and the vote

    A speaker said the threshold was set so the meeting would not have to ballot on the cemetery fund or a $500 donation, and that the controversy is over items like a new fire truck or a public works truck. She noted that not one article this year had a disagreement between the selectmen and the budget committee, and that historically any difference is usually a few hundred dollars. A call for the question passed overwhelmingly and article 36 was then put and failed.

28. 1:09:44
    Articles 37, 38 and 39 fail

    The moderator explained that the remaining articles still had to be taken up and down even though they were housekeeping for article 36. Article 37, to move town meeting to the third Saturday in March 2017 to accommodate the referendum, failed. Article 38, authorising the selectmen to spend up to an average of the past three accepted annual budgets, excepting public works, until a budget passes, failed. Article 39, the equivalent using a two-year average for public works, failed.

29. 1:09:44
    Motion to take up the tax levy limit early

    A resident moved to take article 33 out of order, arguing it should come first because it determines what the town may levy. He described it as arising from the tax levy limit law signed by Governor Baldacci in 2005, a formula based on state income growth and property value change, which on the worksheet Ruth Glazier completed produces $897,000 against the roughly $1.3 million the town intends to levy.

30. 1:15:01
    Whether the article's effect depends on other votes

    Kevin Nadeau (?) asked whether the article contains a number dependent on decisions made in earlier articles. He was told there is no such number and that the article would have the same effect whenever it was voted.

31. 1:15:01
    The count on taking article 33 out of order

    The card vote was too close for the moderator to call, and he briefly proposed a written ballot before settling on a standing count. Both counters had the motion failing by at least 15 to 20 votes against the two thirds requirement, so it failed and article 33 stayed in its place on the warrant.

32. 1:20:11
    Article 6: RSU 5 withdrawal committee

    The article proposed $50,000 for the RSU 5 withdrawal committee. The moderator said it could no longer be passed given the referendum result the previous day and asked the meeting to vote it down. A motion to appropriate zero was made and carried.

33. 1:20:11
    Article 7: the 2015 clerical error

    The article proposed appropriating $195,587 from undesignated funds. The note explained that during the 2015 commitment the figures for appropriated funds and raised funds were inadvertently switched, causing a shortfall of that amount in the town's tax commitment. It was found during this year's audit and the selectmen were told in late January or early February; the effect was that last year's taxes did not go up as much as they should have, and about half of this year's tax impact is that money.

34. 1:20:11
    Whether the bond articles are in the tax figure

    Allan Purinton (?) asked whether the 5.9 percent included the bond articles, article 21 at $474,000 and article 30 at $1.1 million. Jeff Wakeman (?) said they were not, because no payment falls due on either this year and they would not affect taxes until next year.

35. 1:25:33
    Rebuilding the undesignated fund balance

    Chuck Pollock (?) asked how the undesignated fund would be replenished. The answer was that unspent funds other than fire department and public works lapse back, usually a small amount, along with any unused part of the overlay, recently 2 to 2.5 percent, which covers abatements and unpaid taxes. The balance fell about $100,000 this year to around $781,000 as of January 1 against a target of $1.3 to $1.4 million, the town preferring to build it slowly rather than tax for it; interest on last year's tax anticipation note was under $1,000.

36. 1:30:50
    Article 8: administration expenses

    The selectmen and budget committee recommended the administration budget, made up of $98,762 transferred from designated funds, including building, electrical and plumbing permit revenue, delinquent tax interest of $36,577, vehicle registrations of $14,000, tax exempt reimbursement of $18,551 and town clerk fees of $6,877, plus $253,647 to be raised. Allan Purinton (?) asked for the variance from last year.

37. 1:30:50
    What is driving the increase

    The line is up $24,500, about 7.5 percent. Most of it, put at 70 to 80 percent, is a proposal to move the code enforcement officer from part-time to full-time, which he requested because he cannot complete the work in the time available. Permit revenue rose from around $8,000 last year to over $20,000 this year, from more permits being taken out and from a fee schedule adjustment made at his request; earlier years ran around $8,000, $10,000 and $15,000.

38. 1:30:50
    Other changes in the line

    Salaries rise without any raises because this is a 53-week year, and a small raise pool is included. Town report printing, budgeted at $2,200 last year, moves to the telecommunications budget, though the reports stay on paper. Grounds, about $5,000, moves to public works. Election expenses rise because it is a presidential election year and because the June primary means the RSU will not be covering the cost of that election.

39. 1:36:00
    Health insurance and the cost of the position

    Health insurance rose about 8 percent, with some lines up only 1 percent because of numbers entered incorrectly last year. Asked how a $24,000 increase relates to a position bringing in $20,000, the answer was about $10,000 in salary plus roughly $5,500 in benefits, so $15,000 to $16,000 of it. Jane Rice established that Maine PERS is not affected but Social Security would be, and that the town pays 80 percent of health insurance against the employee's 20; a comparison with similar towns put Durham in the middle to lower end, and a higher deductible plan was evaluated and would cost more in the first year.

40. 1:36:00
    Whether the hours decision has been made

    A builder asked whether the decision to extend the code officer's hours had already been taken. Jeff Wakeman (?) said it had not and would not be until after the vote, since the vote only raises the funds and the decision to make the post full-time rests with the selectmen. Asked whether permit fees would cover it, he said fees would go towards the position but not cover it entirely, and that a fall in permits would mean re-evaluating the post.

41. 1:41:52
    Support for the code officer

    Heather Roy (?) said the previous code enforcement officer would tell her to carry on if he had not arrived within 24 hours, whereas Paul had been a valuable professional resource during an addition and a home occupation. Anne Torregrossa, vice chair of the planning board and a municipal attorney who works with code officers in several municipalities, said Paul is one of the good ones and that Durham's growth over the past 10 to 15 years justifies the time.

42. 1:41:52
    The bottom line on taxes

    Alice McPeek (?) asked for the municipal tax increase and was told almost 6 percent, before anything from the school. She said she would vote for the article, since employees had gone a long time without increases, but warned that there are people in the community who cannot afford the taxes they are billed now, let alone another 6 percent on top of several years of increases. Another resident added that the figure excludes the bonds that will hit next year and the RSU. Article 8 passed.

43. 1:41:52
    Article 9: animal control

    The selectmen and budget committee recommended $13,043 for animal control, $129 transferred from the designated fund balance for animal control and $12,914 raised. It passed without discussion.

44. 1:47:22
    Articles 10, 11 and 12

    Assessing, at the recommended amount to be raised, passed without discussion. Cemeteries, at $3,850 to be raised, passed. Conservation, at $2,150 transferred from the designated fund balance for the recreation fund, passed.

45. 1:47:22
    Article 13: social and community service agencies

    The recommendation was $3,000 raised, with $500 donations including Community Concepts, Western Maine Transportation, SeniorsPlus and LifeFlight. Elizabeth Haffy (?) of Community Concepts (?) said the $500 helps deliver over $80,000 of services in Durham, including emergency fuel assistance, transport of elders and veterans to medical appointments, and children and family services. It passed.

46. 1:47:22
    Article 14: Eureka Community Center

    The recommendation was $5,436, with $624 transferred from the designated fund balance for Eureka rentals and $4,812 raised. A resident reported that the vinyl composition tile floor has been wiped out and that a small group of citizens intends to donate a wood floor from local timber, working with local mills, with the milling and installation also donated, and asked anyone with ideas to speak to him afterwards. It passed.

47. 1:52:29
    Article 15: Eureka sinkhole

    The article transferred $1,650 from the designated fund balance for Eureka fundraising to reimburse the emergency fund used to repair the sinkhole at the Eureka Center. Asked why public works had not done the work, the answer was that the crew was not available at the time, early in the new public works director's tenure, though he inspected it with the code officer to determine what was needed. It passed, and the recording ends as article 16 was read.

What was decided

• 21:15
  Article 4: adopt the Maine Moderator's Manual rules of procedure, sixth edition, as the rules of order for the meetingpassed
• 21:15
  Allow five non-residents to speak: administrative assistant Ruth Glazier, road commissioner Calvin Beaumier, the code enforcement officer, Sheriff Samson (?), and Elizabeth Haffy (?) of Community Conceptspassed
• 31:37
  Article 5: require all warrant articles over $40,000 to be voted by written ballot, excluding contracts and bonds the town had previously entered into in good faithfailed
• 31:37
  Take articles 36 to 39 up out of order, which required a two thirds votepassed
• 1:04:28
  Call the question on article 36, ending debatepassed
• 1:04:28
  Article 36: recommend holding a secret ballot referendum election after town meeting in 2017 to approve all warrant articles over $50,000, an advisory vote not binding on the selectmen without a charterfailed
• 1:09:44
  Article 37: move town meeting to the third Saturday in March 2017 to accommodate the referendum votefailed
• 1:09:44
  Article 38: authorise the selectmen to spend up to an average of the past three accepted annual budget amounts, excepting public works, until a budget is passedfailed
• 1:09:44
  Article 39: authorise the selectmen to spend up to an average of the past two accepted annual public works budget amounts until a budget is passedfailed
• 1:15:01
  Take article 33, the state tax levy limit article, up out of order; on a standing count both counters had it failing by at least 15 to 20 votes against the two thirds requirementfailed
• 1:20:11
  Article 6: appropriate zero rather than $50,000 for the RSU 5 withdrawal committee, the withdrawal referendum having been defeated the previous daypassed
• 1:25:33
  Article 7: appropriate $195,587 from undesignated funds to make up the shortfall in the town's 2015 tax commitment caused by appropriated and raised figures being switchedpassed
• 1:41:52
  Article 8: administration expenses as written, $253,647 raised plus $98,762 transferred from designated funds, including funding to move the code enforcement officer to full-timepassed
• 1:41:52
  Article 9: animal control, $13,043, being $129 transferred from the designated fund balance and $12,914 raisedpassed
• 1:47:22
  Article 10: assessing, at the amount recommended by the selectmen and budget committee, to be raisedpassed
• 1:47:22
  Article 11: cemeteries, $3,850 to be raisedpassed
• 1:47:22
  Article 12: conservation, $2,150 transferred from the designated fund balance for the recreation fundpassed
• 1:47:22
  Article 13: social and community service agencies, $3,000 raised, in $500 donations including Community Concepts, Western Maine Transportation, SeniorsPlus and LifeFlightpassed
• 1:47:22
  Article 14: Eureka Community Center, $5,436, being $624 from the designated fund balance for Eureka rentals and $4,812 raisedpassed
• 1:52:29
  Article 15: transfer $1,650 from the Eureka Community Center fundraising fund to reimburse the emergency fund used to repair the sinkhole at the Eureka Centerpassed

An outcome reads "unclear" where the recording does not state it plainly. The recogniser drops short words, and "the motion does not carry" is one missing word from its opposite.

Worth knowing

• 21:15
  The budget as presented would raise the mill rate about 1.03, or 5.9 percent, roughly half of it the increase in the budget and roughly half of it a clerical error in the 2015 commitment. That figure excludes the RSU 5 budget, the homestead exemption rising from $10,000 to $15,000, and two bond articles whose payments do not start until next year.
• 1:20:11
  During the 2015 commitment the figures for appropriated funds and raised funds were inadvertently switched, leaving the town's tax commitment $195,587 short. It was found during this year's audit and the selectmen learned of it in late January or early February. The undesignated fund balance, used to cover it, fell about $100,000 this year to around $781,000 against a target of $1.3 to $1.4 million.
• 1:04:28
  The town rejected all four proposals to move budget voting away from the meeting floor. Supporters (?) said around 130 people last year decided spending for over 3,000 registered voters and that a written ballot lets people vote their conscience; opponents said it would add hours to the meeting, remove the ability to amend an amount on the floor, and reach precisely the people least informed about the articles.
• 1:30:50
  The administration budget carries a $24,500 increase, about 7.5 percent, mostly to fund moving the code enforcement officer from part-time to full-time. Permit revenue rose from around $8,000 last year to over $20,000 this year, but does not cover the post in full, and the decision to make it full-time rests with the selectmen after the vote. Alice McPeek supported the article but warned residents cannot afford another 6 percent on top of several years of increases.

Motion language found in the transcript

Located by pattern matching, with no model involved: "I move that", "I'll second", "all those in favour". This is an independent check on the summary above: 8 passages of motion language, against 20 decisions summarised.

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