Select Board Meeting ~ January 13, 2026

2026-01-13 · Select Board · 2:25:12 · watch on YouTube →

Select Board meeting of January 13, 2026, held with a quorum and one member excused for illness. The board recognized Kevin Moss as the fire department's first full-time EMS member, then spent most of the meeting on three employee-policy items carrying fiscal notes: adding a cost-of-living adjustment to the MainePERS retirement plan, the cash payment given in lieu of health insurance, and a proposed wage table. None of the three was voted on; the HR consultant and the town's accountant were absent with illness, and the board agreed to send them questions and decide at a later meeting. The planning board chair and town planner presented proposed land use ordinance amendments and codification, and the board gave a verbal go-ahead to draft three warrant articles. A proposed holiday schedule was discussed and moved to the next meeting over disagreement about holidays falling on Fridays. The board approved the December 23 minutes and the consent agenda, and adjourned at 8:49.

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. 0:20
   Call to order and agenda amendment

   The chair opened at 6:30 on Tuesday the 13th, noted a quorum with one excused absence due to illness, and led the pledge. A motion to move the fire department recognition forward on the agenda was made, seconded and carried.

2. 5:33
   Fire department recognition; public comment; December 23 minutes

   The fire chief introduced Kevin Moss as the department's first full-time EMS position, converted from a part-time spot, and said EMS calls in town are up. Moss started with Durham Fire in 2011, received a distinguished service award for his response to the Lewiston shooting, and had his badge pinned by his spouse Linda. No one spoke at public comment, and the December 23 minutes were approved.

3. 10:38
   Employee policy items with fiscal notes

   The chair explained that HR consultant Betsy and accountant Mark were unable to attend because of illness, and set out the three items from the draft employee handbook that carry a fiscal note: the retirement plan, cash in lieu of health insurance, and the wage table. He said the rest of the handbook can be adopted by the town manager and the board, and that these items are board policy decisions that are then budgeted for rather than separate town meeting votes.

4. 15:51
   Retirement plan cost-of-living adjustment

   The chair described how MainePERS pensions work and said the town's plan does not include a cost-of-living adjustment in retirement, which staff had assumed was there. Moving to the plan with the adjustment was quoted at about 1% of wages, roughly $9,000 based on last year. He said the consultant found that most surrounding communities use the plan code that includes the adjustment.

5. 21:00
   MissionSquare alternative and staff retention

   John (?) said he was not ready to vote because he wanted to understand a MissionSquare option the consultant had raised in August, and whether it is instead of or in addition to MainePERS. Other members tied the discussion to difficulty keeping employees; the board was told the town is down a full-time plow driver and an on-call part-timer, that five applicants had not produced a hire, and that nearby towns pay three to four dollars an hour more.

6. 36:56
   Cash in lieu of health insurance

   The town currently pays $1,200 to an employee who declines health insurance. The consultant's draft handbook proposed 50% of what single coverage would have cost the town, a figure given in the recording as about $12,000 per year (the exact number was garbled), so about $6,000. The chair explained the reasoning as splitting the budgeted saving between town and employee, and noted the town does not currently budget positions at the fully insured rate.

7. 52:34
   Wage table

   The proposed table sets steps one through eight for each full-time position, with about a 4% change per step and new hires placed at the step matching their experience. Examples cited were a deputy clerk / BMV agent / IT liaison at $23.00 rising to $26.94, and a truck driver mechanic at $26 rising to $34.21. The chair said the town is below market rate, applicant pools are shallow, and the public works director is plowing rather than doing director work.

8. 1:03:20
   Fire and EMS per diem pay

   The fire chief said the department's own scale pays EMT basic $18 regardless of years, advanced $20, paramedic $22, with $2 more for firefighter I/II, and that surrounding services are north of $30. John (?) asked that per diem fire and EMS staff be added to the wage table so there is a step increase for experience; the chief said the town has about 22 per diems with no benefits and that he budgets on an average rate.

9. 1:20:15
   Land use ordinance amendments and codification

   Planning board chair Brian Lanoie (?) and town planner George (?) presented a year's work separating policy changes from technical cleanup, recommending three warrant articles: minor policy changes, administrative changes, and codification of the land use ordinance into a 183-page digitized code. Minor policy items include back lots and private ways, expanding nonconforming residential structures, a road buffer along existing homes in new subdivisions, fire water supply options, a cannabis cultivation loophole, and state-required manufactured housing changes. Administrative items include subdivision road and driveway standards, solid waste plans for subdivisions, campground and RV review scope, and proof that applicants' taxes are current.

10. 1:37:09
    Road frontage add-on and agriculture definitions

    The town planner asked to add an amendment on the 300-foot road frontage requirement for back lots and final subdivision lots, which he said has been applied inconsistently and produces a road to nowhere; three subdivisions are before the planning board now. The agriculture committee has proposed eight new definitions, including agritourism and high tunnels; staff advised that definitions alone are not enough without standards and a public process.

11. 1:42:26
    Board sign-off on drafting warrant articles

    After a question about whether the new subdivision buffer applies to the access road or to adjacent house lots, the town planner said it applies to the road and gives the planning board case-by-case authority it does not now have. The chair gave a thumbs up to proceed with drafting warrant language, public hearings and the town report, with no objection from other members.

12. 1:47:35
    Comprehensive plan and economic development

    The town planner said LD 1751, passed in June, extended comprehensive plan certification from 10 years to 12, giving Durham more flexibility on when to start the next plan, previously slated to begin in 2027 for enactment in 2029. The town has applied for a $75,000 economic development grant through the same program as the open space resiliency fund, with notification expected in January; GPCOG has submitted a consulting proposal as a fallback.

13. 1:52:41
    Holiday schedule

    With the town office open Monday through Thursday, the chair proposed recognizing Friday holidays on the following Monday to avoid Thursday closures. Josh and John (?) said they would not support giving a Monday off for a Friday holiday, and the day after Thanksgiving was questioned. The handbook currently gives 13 paid holidays; the proposed schedule listed 14, the extra being Juneteenth, and Christmas Eve is in the town's old policy but not the state list.

14. 2:08:27
    Town manager report

    Jerry (?) reported a full-time public works hire going through background checks, uncertainty among municipal treasurers about handling cash transactions as the penny is withdrawn, and a trifold on the solid waste transition that will be handed out at the counter and posted online rather than mailed. He said the office is short-staffed, at one point down to one person, and that it may have to close if the illness spreads.

15. 2:13:42
    Solid waste transition

    Casella has met with the solid waste committee, and the committee chair or vice chair will bring a policy recommendation on January 27 alongside Waste Zero, the bag supplier, on a pay-as-you-throw program. Casella has asked for household counts and addresses so it can order and deliver bins. The board flagged an unresolved question about credit or refunds for trash tags residents have already bought.

16. 2:18:48
    Board reports

    The chair reported on a GPCOG tax committee looking at municipal budget pressure, including a proposal for a local sales tax in larger municipalities with a share distributed to smaller towns, with a further meeting February 9. The GPCOG chairs in a circle session is February 26, 5:00 to 7:00 in Portland, open to two officials per community. Josh (?) reported that the highest property sale in Androscoggin County was in Durham at $1.2 million, on a one-acre subdivision lot.

17. 2:24:01
    Consent agenda, upcoming meetings and adjournment

    The consent agenda was approved. Upcoming meetings listed were planning board the 14th at the fire station, conservation commission the 21st, select board the 27th, agriculture committee February 4, and solid waste committee February 9. No executive session was needed and the meeting closed at 8:49.

What was decided

• 0:20
  Amend the agenda to move the fire department new hire recognition to the next itempassed
• 5:33
  Approve the meeting minutes of December 23; motion by Josh, second by Johnpassed
• 36:56
  Hold the retirement plan cost-of-living adjustment until the HR consultant answers written questions on the MissionSquare option and on employees already decades into the pensiontabled
• 52:34
  Defer the cash in lieu of health insurance rate; the chair stated there was no consensus and further questions for the consultanttabled
• 1:20:15
  Defer adoption of the wage table until the HR consultant and accountant attend, with a request to see what adding per diem fire and EMS staff would look liketabled
• 1:42:26
  Give the planning board and town planner the go-ahead to draft warrant articles for the minor policy changes, administrative changes and codification, including the road frontage amendmentpassed
• 2:03:13
  A motion was made that the office be closed on January 19 and February 16; it was pointed out that the existing handbook already provides those days, and no vote is recorded in the transcriptoutcome unclear
• 2:03:13
  Move the holiday schedule to the next meeting for further discussion of holidays falling on Fridaystabled
• 2:24:01
  Approve the consent agenda; motion by Rebecca, second by Johnpassed
• 2:24:01
  Adjourn at 8:49; motion by Rebecca, second by Joshpassed

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

• 52:34
  The fire chief said the town pays EMT staff about $5 an hour less than surrounding communities, and that there are 22 open shifts this month. He put the gap with Lisbon at $7 an hour for a basic EMT.
• 1:20:15
  The chair said the wage table as drafted, with each current employee placed on it, would add about $126,000 across all departments, about a 1% change in the budget, against about $160,000 coming off debt service next year. Josh (?) said money coming off debt service does not have to be spent.
• 47:17
  On cash in lieu of health insurance, John (?) said four employees currently take the $1,200 payment, totalling $4,800, and that moving to 50% of the single rate would take it to about $24,000. He said he could not support 50%; the chair argued a higher payment could reduce net cost by moving people off family coverage.
• 2:08:27
  Jerry (?) said the town office has been down to one or two staff, that the agenda packet nearly did not go out, and that the office may have to close if the illness spreads further.

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: 3 passages of motion language, against 10 decisions summarised.

Elsewhere

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