Waldoboro selectmen set tax rate, emergency vehicle purchase to voters
Waldoboro — At a special town meeting Sept. 13, Waldoboro selectmen set the 2013 tax rate and narrowly decided to ask voters to purchase an emergency vehicle in November.
Selectmen also met to sign the lease/transfer of ownership agreement with the Central Lincoln County YMCA. The YMCA is planning on redeveloping the former A.D. Gray Middle School into a recreational facility. Waldoboro residents approved the agreement Sept. 11.
Selectman Craig Cooley said although he recognizes the need for a new fire truck, the timing is not right, adding he would feel more comfortable prolonging the issue.
"We need to be more stable financially before big expenditures come, " he said.
Board member James Bodman disagreed and said the truck — meant for dual purpose as a pumper and emergency vehicle — is imperative for the town. Waldoboro cannot rely solely on mutual aid from neighboring towns to assist in emergency situations, he said.
The lease/purchase agreement for the vehicle will be for a five-year term. If approved in November, the town will pay $41,000 a year, which includes interest.
Steve Cartwright said although he regrets not having a reserve account to pay for the emergency vehicle, he considers maintaining sub-standard equipment a risk.
"We all agree there's merit to the request," he said.
The board voted 3-2 to allow the issue to go to voters in November. Voting against the measure were Cooley and Carl Cunningham.
The mil rate was set at $13.50 per $1,000 of assessed property. The 2013 fiscal year commitment, including the budget, county assessment and the MSAD 40 assessment totals $7,079,732, an increase of 3.1 percent from last year's $6,860,561 commitment. The town is expected to rebuild a budget surplus of $1 million in five years, said Town Manager John Spear.
Courier Publications reporter Juliette Laaka can be reached at 594-4401 ext. 118 or via email at JLaaka@courierpublicationsllc.com.
I would just like to say that I was misquoted in the this article. I did not say that "Waldoboro cannot rely on mutual aid from neighboring towns to assist in emergency situations." Which implies that our mutual aid departments are unreliable in emergency situations.
There was a comment made, that Waldoboro could rely solely on mutual aid to cover our calls, which this truck would typically respond to. I disagreed and gave an example, that if we had a motor vehicle accident in South Waldoboro, and someone was pinned in a vehicle, our fastest responding neighboring town would be Friendship. Friendship Fire Dept. does not have extracation equipment needed to cut anyone trapped in a vehicle. There are other mutual aid departments that don't have the equipment neccessary to respond to the types of emergencies that this particular truck would be responding to.
Waldoboro has an excellent mutual aid relationship with our surrounding towns! We are very fortunate to have such a great working relationship with our surrounding towns.
But I do feel that this apparatus is designed for a very specific purpose, that will serve a very important purpose for this town.
I am very dissapointed that Village Soup did not properly quote me. With all respect, I would ask that if you cannot quote me properly, don't quote me at all. Thank you