Select Board Meeting ~ January 27, 2026

2026-01-27 · Select Board · 3:00:33 · watch on YouTube →

Select Board meeting of January 27, 2026, given over largely to the last three items of the HR review before budget season and to two outside presentations. With the town's HR consultant and finance director present, the board voted to move the town's MainePERS plan to the version that carries a cost of living adjustment in retirement, which will go to town meeting as a warrant article, and adopted an eight-step wage table costing roughly $160,000 in its first year, described as a reset after more than a decade without one. A motion to keep the cash in lieu of health insurance benefit at $1,200 was made and voted on but the recording does not state the result. The Solid Waste Committee and a representative of WasteZero set out how a pay as you throw bag programme would work alongside Casella's move to automated cart pickup, with a decision needed within weeks; MaineDOT's regional planner then told the board that a speed study on Route 136 could raise the limit rather than lower it and that enforcement is the strongest tool available. The board also appointed two planning board members and heard that Durham has been awarded a $75,000 economic development study grant.

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. 1:12
   Opening and minutes

   The meeting was called to order at about 6:30 with all members present. One member said he would hold an amendment he had in mind and ask for it on the next agenda instead. There was no public comment, and the minutes of January 13 were approved.

2. 6:49
   HR review: the three items with a fiscal note

   Betsy, the HR consultant hired about six months ago to work through the employee handbook, compensation and benefits, was present with finance director Mark Roy. The remaining items were the retirement plan, cash in lieu of health insurance and a proposed wage table, and the chair set out that the board would take each in turn and vote before moving on, so it could be settled ahead of budget preparation.

3. 6:49
   MainePERS: the A plan, the AC plan and MissionSquare

   Durham is a participating local district in MainePERS on the A plan, which carries no cost of living adjustment once an employee retires. John (?) asked about MissionSquare, and Betsy (?) explained it is a 457(b) rather than a pension, usually offered alongside MainePERS as a choice for people who do not want the pension, and that she would not recommend replacing MainePERS with it. She noted that since 2010 an employee has 30 days from hire to join MainePERS or can never join, and cannot leave once in. She said Diana Doyle at MainePERS gave her a list showing 31 towns on the no-COLA plan and six on the COLA plan; a board member later summarised the position as 87 percent of municipalities having the COLA, so the recording carries two accounts that cannot both be right.

4. 23:25
   What the COLA plan costs, and the Social Security gap

   Mark Roy (?) said the FY27 differential is 1.2 percentage points on the employer contribution, 9 percent of earnable compensation on the A plan against 10.2 percent on the AC plan, which works out at roughly $10,500 to $11,000 for FY27, about one tenth of one percent of town expenditures; the employee contribution does not change. A member observed that employees hired for FY27 were not told there was no COLA and that had they known, different people might be in those jobs. Members were also reminded that Durham's MainePERS employees are not covered by Social Security, unlike towns with a section 218 agreement, so they are not accruing qualifying quarters while working here.

5. 28:32
   Vote on moving to the COLA plan

   Betsy (?) explained the change requires a certified action vote by the town's legislative body with specific language supplied by MainePERS, so it must go to town meeting. Applying it going forward only avoids the actuarial study and much larger cost of applying it retrospectively to existing retirees. The board voted to adopt the recommendation and draft warrant language.

6. 28:32
   Cash in lieu of health insurance

   An employee who declines town health insurance because they are covered elsewhere receives $1,200. Mark Roy gave the town's current cost of coverage as $13,490 for a single employee, $30,275 for a family and about $22,200 for employee plus children, and noted premiums have just risen 9 percent. Because the benefit is part of compensation it does not need a separate town meeting vote; it simply tells the town manager what to build into the budget.

7. 38:41
   What other employers do

   Betsy (?) said practice is all over the place, from nothing at all to a percentage of the single rate, $100 a month or $5,000 a year, and is often negotiated in collective bargaining. She noted the benefit cannot be taken by someone on MaineCare, Medicare, the ACA or another federal or state plan: there has to be an eligible group plan elsewhere, and it is taxable income. RSU5 was cited as paying around $3,500. Members observed that Durham has an unusually high take-up, five of thirteen staff, close to 40 percent.

8. 48:57
   Motion to keep the benefit at $1,200

   A member moved to keep it at $1,200, arguing the return is not there for what would be roughly $26,000 more, that the wage table discussion matters more, and that he was not convinced anyone would leave over it. Others argued the $1,200 was set when insurance cost far less and has not tracked the cost of the benefit, and that where an employee declines family coverage the town saves $30,000, so a larger payment could still be a net saving. A vote was taken; the recording does not state the result and the board moved on to the wage table without changing the figure.

9. 54:48
   The proposed wage table

   Jerry and Betsy produced an eight-step wage table covering every job classification, on the basis that many Durham positions have been paid well below surrounding communities and that municipal pay will not match the private sector but should be defensible. Members were told the estimated first-year impact of placing current staff on the table is around $160,000, about one percent of the total budget, after which annual movement would be 4 percent early in a career or the cost of living adjustment, roughly 2.7 to 3.2 percent, later. The table would be locked for eight years and re-examined about every three, and would also govern lateral transfers, so an experienced clerk coming from another town would not start at step one.

10. 59:59
    Debate over locking in the cost

    John (?) said he was reluctant to vote for something that commits the town to a large sum without knowing the figure, and that adopting it removes flexibility because the money coming off debt service would then be spoken for; he asked that the board also state what it does not want cut, such as capital improvement and paving. Josh and the chair argued the debt coming off roughly matches the cost, that revenue estimates and paving estimates give room, and that Durham is competing with employers 20 to 25 minutes away in Auburn and Portland. Betsy (?) said this kind of reset is happening across the state and that it is painful in the first year but manageable once kept up.

11. 1:10:31
    The town manager on staffing, and the vote

    Jerry (?) said public works has not been fully staffed since June, that truck drivers with six or seven years' service were on about $22 an hour, and that the calibre of applicants at those rates has included people who cannot pass a background check. He warned that expecting staff to work 80 hours will become a liability. The board adopted the wage table as presented and directed that the budget be prepared on that basis.

12. 1:15:53
    Fire department pay to come separately

    Members confirmed the fire department's schedule will not fit this table and that the chief will bring an option to the board separately, as they had asked at the previous meeting.

13. 1:20:54
    Solid Waste Committee recommendations

    Juliet Caplinger of 1457 Royalsborough Road, chair of the committee, and Katherine Curtis of 56 Brianna Drive, vice chair, read the recommendations they had emailed to the town manager on December 9, 2025. They said solid waste costs should not be absorbed by tax revenue alone, and recommended starting a pay as you throw programme with coloured bags, with or without Casella's AI technology; 64-gallon containers for trash and recycling with a 48-gallon option on request; and a start date for automated pickup of no earlier than April 1, 2026 rather than March, to allow time to educate residents, deliver containers and confirm routes. Casella (?) told them March is not firm and that Durham is the first town it is transitioning this year.

14. 1:25:58
    Routes, quotes and communication

    The committee asked for quotes from Casella for the AI technology, with and without Casella handling the mailers, and from WasteZero for manual spot checks; it reported WasteZero followed a truck in Falmouth and found about 90 percent compliance. Casella was to complete a road evaluation by the end of December to determine routes and which private roads it will service, and is reviewing the practice of residents crossing Route 136 and 125 to place bins, which its contact said was never intended. The committee recommended a bag colour not used by North Yarmouth and no town logo, to avoid added cost, and said communication to residents needs to go out urgently.

15. 1:31:07
    Tags, free allocations and container sizes

    Residents currently get 26 free tags a year and pay $3 for extra tags, and one tag covers a bin that may hold several bags, so a per-bag charge is a different proposition. The committee had discussed giving every household about 10 bags to start. Members clarified for the public that Casella supplies the carts at no charge to residents under the contract, that 64-gallon containers will be distributed unless a resident asks otherwise, and that 96-gallon and 48-gallon options exist. Members also acknowledged there is an informal market in surplus tags.

16. 1:41:19
    WasteZero on how pay as you throw works

    Mark of WasteZero (?) said the fixed cost of the trucks cannot be changed once the contract is signed, but the variable cost can: Durham pays $110 a ton and about 70 percent of what goes in the trash could be recycled, composted or should not be there. He said the company has worked with 300 towns over 30 years and the results are predictable, citing a Massachusetts community whose tonnage fell from 51,000 tons to 22,000 in the first year, and Sanford, Maine, where a lottery winner campaigned the programme out, tonnage rose, and it was reinstated about two years later.

17. 1:51:28
    The bags themselves

    The standard sizes are a 33-gallon large bag and a tall kitchen bag of about 15 gallons, at 1.5 mil, made of linear low density polyethylene with around 30 percent recycled content, manufactured in South Carolina. WasteZero would find local and chain stores to stock them, deliver weekly, handle all store communication and produce a monthly reconciliation into the town's own bank account; the town office could also sell them. Printing costs nothing extra, and a QR code linking to town solid waste information could go on the packaging. Lead time is four to five weeks for the bags themselves, with six weeks preferred because large chains are slow to add a product.

18. 2:07:07
    Revenue projection and enforcement

    At $3 for a large bag and $1.75 for a small one, WasteZero projected about $156,000 in net revenue, based on tonnage falling about 25 percent, or 195 tons, rather than the 40 to 45 percent it usually sees, because Durham already has a hybrid system through its tags. On top of that it projected about $21,000 in tipping savings, for a net benefit of around $177,000, correcting figures printed on the handout. WasteZero takes about 25 cents a small bag and 35 cents a large bag out of the price. On enforcement, it noted that with automated carts nobody sees the contents until they are tipped; an audit in Falmouth found 52 of 2,700 households non-compliant when the lids were flipped, and it advised having clear rules and consequences from the start. It also advised against giving free bags away and suggested a lower price instead.

19. 2:17:21
    The timing problem

    Members noted that with automated pickup nobody pulls a tag off the bin, so if bags are not in place when Casella starts there is no mechanism at all; launching twice was seen as worse than launching once. With Casella potentially starting April 1 and bags needing about six weeks, the board said it would have to decide within a couple of weeks and put the item on the next agenda. A motion to extend the meeting to 9:15 was made and carried.

20. 2:23:04
    MaineDOT on Route 136 safety

    Matt Dross, regional planner for MaineDOT, was asked what the town can do after a fatal crash on Route 136 in November and whether to pursue a speed study through state traffic engineer Randy Allen. He said the road is a priority 3 state route posted at 50 with a 45 advisory around the curve north of the crash site, and that a speed study examines existing speeds and context, so it might not produce a lower limit; Jerry (?) added he had seen studies come back with a higher limit. Dross (?) said it is hard to imagine contextual changes on that rural stretch, such as raised medians, crossings or a sidewalk network, that would justify a lower posted speed.

21. 2:28:16
    Signage and its limits

    Dross (?) said warning signs such as children at play have very limited efficacy and fall off within weeks, and that MaineDOT's local roads programme actively recommends removing them. Options he raised were restriping lanes from 12 feet to 11 to make the road feel narrower, optical bars on the outside of the curve, overhead lighting at the mailbox clusters, larger or red-outlined speed limit signs at roughly $300 a sign plus pole, and speed feedback signs, of which Durham already has three trailer-mounted units; new ones cost $4,000 to $6,000. He cautioned that lowering a limit on a road built for 50 can create passing hazards.

22. 2:38:34
    Crossings, outreach and enforcement

    John (?) asked whether the postal service could be asked to allow mailboxes on both sides of the road so residents do not cross; Dross (?) said that is entirely a matter for the local postmaster but that it would make sense on safety grounds. Members asked for public information material on safe crossing, and Dross (?) offered to check with the Bicycle Coalition of Maine and MaineDOT's local roads programme. On enforcement, members said the state police stopped covering Durham years ago and the town relies on the sheriff, and Jerry (?) said targeted enforcement runs about $100 an hour with a four-hour minimum, roughly $400 a session or a few thousand dollars a year for monthly coverage; Dross (?) said he would check with MaineDOT's safety office about grants.

23. 2:43:41
    What the town can ask for now

    Dross (?) said MaineDOT can supply flexible delineators free for a demonstration project, to be picked up at Farmington within days once the town manager requests specific items, and recommended deploying them near village areas and speed transitions in warmer months rather than on straightaways. He also offered a regional traffic engineer visit for a signage and safety look at 136 or 125, short of a full speed study. The toolbox as summarised was: reduce the need to cross the road for trash and mail, public information on safe crossing, demonstration materials, speed feedback and static signs, and targeted enforcement.

24. 2:48:57
    Planning board appointments

    One regular member position and two alternate positions were open, with two applications received. The motion was to appoint one applicant, whose name the recording renders only as Sunny D, as the regular member, and Darren Levesque (?) as an alternate. A member argued Levesque should have the regular seat because of planning board experience and work on a comprehensive plan, but it emerged from the application that this was as a high school representative to Fort Kent's ten-year comprehensive plan. Both were described as good candidates and members noted alternates on the planning board get plenty of work.

25. 2:48:57
    Town manager's report: auditor and the Eureka Center

    Department heads will now attend the last meeting of the month with their written reports circulated beforehand. RKO can no longer carry out the town's audits, because of turnover at the firm and the town's change of fiscal year, so an RFP is needed. The heat pumps at the Eureka Center cannot keep up: turned up to 88 over the weekend, the main room measured 57 degrees and the kitchen 54, so a primary heat source is needed as soon as possible and estimates will come to a future agenda for a vote.

26. 2:54:06
    Parking, Casella, Freeport recycling and the school board vacancy

    The fire chief reported three complaints about parking at the Eureka Center, including a renter who expected every space, and said his position, confirmed by the town manager, is that it is all town property provided nobody blocks the fire bays. Casella emailed on Friday that trash must be out by 7am or it will not be picked up and they will not chase it. Freeport has found an inconsistency between its solid waste ordinance and its practice of allowing limited non-resident use of the Hedgehog Mountain Road transfer facility, will update the ordinance working with the neighbouring towns, and is raising its annual sticker fee from $40 to $50. A school board vacancy needs filling quickly for the budget process, and the board agreed to advertise with a deadline of its first February meeting.

27. 2:54:06
    Economic development grant awarded

    Jerry (?) reported that the $75,000 grant applied for on the town's behalf through GPCOG, for an economic development study of an area near the power line in South Durham, has been awarded, against many applicants. The money is not official until the town has a contract with the state. Members remarked that the return on the town's GPCOG membership over the last two years has been substantial.

28. 2:59:10
    Board member reports and adjournment

    Josh (?) reported that he and the chair had met Milt and Jill of the budget committee, who want a joint meeting with department heads on the budget, and asked for the budget process to be finalised at the next meeting. Rebecca (?) noted the funeral service on Saturday at 11am at the Shiloh Chapel for Mr Lowe (?), a 50-year member of the Durham Fire Department, and thanked the fire department for their response when her neighbour died. A member asked to bring back the facilities expansion discussion, targeted enforcement, and a possible part-time position at the town office. John (?) said a constituent had asked about putting a plough on the fire chief's truck and that in his view it is the town manager's decision. The consent agenda was approved and the meeting adjourned at 9:25.

What was decided

• 6:49
  Approve the minutes of the January 13 meetingpassed
• 28:32
  Adopt the recommendation to move the town's MainePERS plan to the AC plan, which carries a cost of living adjustment in retirement, applying going forward only, and draft warrant language to take to town meetingpassed
• 48:57
  Keep the cash in lieu of health insurance benefit at $1,200 rather than increasing it. A motion was made, seconded and put to a vote, but the recording does not state the resultoutcome unclear
• 1:10:31
  Adopt the eight-step wage table as presented and direct the town manager to prepare the budget on that basispassed
• 2:17:21
  Defer the decision on the pay as you throw bag programme to the next meeting, given that a decision is needed within about two weeks if bags are to be in place when Casella's automated pickup startstabled
• 2:17:21
  Extend the meeting to 9:15passed
• 2:48:57
  Extend the meeting to 9:20passed
• 2:48:57
  Appoint one applicant as a regular member of the planning board and Darren Levesque (?) as an alternatepassed
• 2:54:06
  Advertise the school board vacancy and set a deadline of the board's first February meeting, given that the school board wants the seat filled for the budget processpassed
• 2:59:10
  Approve the consent agendapassed
• 2:59:10
  Adjourn at 9:25passed

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

• 23:25
  Adding a cost of living adjustment to the town's MainePERS plan raises the employer contribution from 9 to 10.2 percent of earnable compensation, about $10,500 to $11,000 in FY27 and roughly one tenth of one percent of town spending, with no extra cost to employees. It has to be approved at town meeting. The recording gives two irreconcilable accounts of how common the COLA plan is: the consultant said 31 towns have the no-COLA plan and six have it, and a board member then described it as 87 percent of municipalities. Separately, Durham's MainePERS employees are not covered by Social Security, so they accrue no qualifying quarters while working here.
• 54:48
  The board adopted an eight-step wage table with a first-year cost estimated at about $160,000, roughly one percent of the town budget, described as a reset after more than a decade without one. The town manager said public works has not been fully staffed since June and that truck drivers with six or seven years' service were on about $22 an hour. John (?) warned that adopting it commits the money coming off debt service and removes flexibility elsewhere in the budget.
• 2:07:07
  WasteZero projected about $156,000 in net bag revenue at $3 for a large bag and $1.75 for a small one, plus around $21,000 in tipping savings from a projected 195-ton reduction, against current tag revenue given variously in the meeting as about $37,000 over 18 months and as $40,000 to $50,000. Tipping costs $110 a ton and about 70 percent of what goes in Durham's trash could be recycled or composted. The timing matters: with automated carts nobody pulls a tag off a bin, bags need about six weeks' lead time, and Casella's automated pickup could start April 1.
• 2:23:04
  MaineDOT's regional planner told the board that a speed study on Route 136 could come back with a higher limit rather than a lower one, and that nothing about that stretch of road would justify a lower posted speed. He said warning signs such as children at play have very limited effect and are actively recommended for removal, and that enforcement is the strongest tool. Durham has no police force, the state police stopped covering the town, and targeted sheriff enforcement costs about $100 an hour with a four-hour minimum.

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: 9 passages of motion language, against 11 decisions summarised.

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