Vassalboro selectmen approve power purchase agreement

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by Mary Grow

Vassalboro selectmen put one long-discussed issue to rest at their April 30 meeting, when they unanimously approved a power purchase agreement with ReVision Energy to buy power from an out-of-town solar project, they hope beginning early in 2021.

However, they and Town Manager Mary Sabins made no progress on the difficult questions of deciding when and how to hold the annual town meeting and what to do if it can’t be held before the fiscal year ends June 30.

They have not yet abandoned the scheduled open town meeting Monday, June 22, followed by a written vote Tuesday, June 23. The June 23 vote would include local elections and the school budget validation referendum, at which voters accept or reject the 2020-21 school budget adopted the day before.

But they spent part of their April 30 meeting considering possible alternatives in case the plan can’t be followed.

Possibilities include holding an open meeting with social distancing, for example by using two different rooms at Vassalboro Community School or having an outdoor meeting on the ballfields. Technology coordinator David Trask said connecting two rooms would be difficult, but possible; providing a public address system on the ballfields would be easy.

If the selectmen were to abandon the open meeting and hold a town meeting by referendum, at least three problems arise. Sabins said the warrant questions would need to be reworded; Board Chairman Lauchlin Titus and Selectman John Melrose believe the required advance notice makes action before June 30 impossible; and Sabins said School Superintendent Alan Pfeiffer has legal advice that the school budget cannot legally be voted by referendum, but requires an open meeting.

Sabins pointed out that gatherings of more than 50 people are probably banned through the summer. Trask asked if several 50-person groups could assemble in different parts of the ballfields.

A related complication is what to do about taxes and spending. The normal procedure is that voters approved the budget; the assessor compares revenues with expenditures and recommends a tax rate; selectmen make the tax commitment, usually in August; and bills go out in time for the first quarterly payment in late September.

If a budget is not approved by June 30, the usual procedure is for the municipality or school department to continue at the previous year’s levels until voters approve a new budget.

Melrose suggested since the current 2019-20 and proposed 2020-21 budgets are very similar, selectmen could set the tax commitment without an approved 2020-21 budget. Sabins was not sure doing so would be legal.

Most requirements related to town meeting procedures are set by the state legislature; legislators could amend them.

Selectmen intend to discuss the issue again at their next regular meeting, scheduled for Thursday evening, May 14, or at a special meeting if Sabins gets information that will let them make decisions sooner.

The solar energy contract is almost identical to the one signed by the Vassalboro School Department on April 28, Portland-based attorney Aga Dixon told selectmen (see The Town Line, April 30). As she did with school board members, Dixon explained the contract in detail, including the estimated savings in the town’s electric bill and the variables that could affect projected figures.

Selectmen authorized Sabins to sign the contract, and Dixon gave her a partial list of follow-up documents she should receive. Selectmen expect Vassalboro will be in time to join the distribution list for power from a proposed solar array in Skowhegan. Dixon said construction should begin in May and the project should be generating power early in 2021.

Vassalboro Sanitary District representative Lee Trahan joined the discussion. He said VSD board members need more time to consider whether to participate in the solar power program. Dixon said if they decided to join too late to sign as part of the selectmen’s contract, they could do a separate contract as the school board did.

Vassalboro solar projects on planning agenda

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by Mary Grow

The Vassalboro Planning Board meets at 7 p.m. Tuesday, May 5, virtually, with two preliminary discussions of applications for solar projects on its agenda. Neither project is related to the discussions among selectmen and school board members about buying solar power from an out-of-town project, although ReVision Energy, the company working with town officials, will present one of them.

ReVision’s proposal is for a solar array on the east side of Main Street (Route 32) near the former Vollmer’s Nursing Home.

The other solar plan is presented by Stantec Consulting Services, Inc., of Topsham, on behalf of Boston-based Longroad Energy Management, LLC. Longroad plans a 4.1 megawatt unit at 2579 Riverside Drive.

Project Manager Kara Moody, in her April 20 letter asking for the May 5 preliminary meeting with the planning board, says the solar array will be on about 20.6 acres of agricultural land.

Interested people will be able to watch the planning board meeting on-line via the Vassalboro school’s website at vcsvikings.com. Online meetings are the first item under information; the list already includes the May 5 planning board meeting, with instructions on sending comments or questions in advance.

Vassalboro school board joins town to buy out-of-town solar power

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Vassalboro Community School. (source: jmg.org)

by Mary Grow

At a special meeting April 28, Vassalboro School Board members voted to join with town officials in a plan to buy solar power from an out-of-town development.

Board members had information and advice from attorney Aga Dixon, of Drummond Woodsum, who is acting for the school and town jointly. Selectman John Melrose attended the virtual school board meeting.

The main advantages cited were stabilizing electricity costs and saving around $11,000 a year – not a big part of an $8 million school budget, but over 25 years a substantial amount.

The main hesitation was over the length of the contract, 25 years with extensions that could bring it to 40 years. During that time there will be many technological changes, board member Jolene Gamage pointed out; Vassalboro might regret the commitment.

Melrose replied that many other Maine schools and municipalities are making similar arrangements.

“If we end up screwing up, we’ll have lots of company,” he said.

Gamage was not completely reassured, but she voted in favor of the plan.

Vassalboro selectmen have accepted the solar plan, subject to legal review. A final decision is on the agenda for their Thursday, April 30, virtual meeting, which begins at 6:30 p.m. and can be viewed at vcsvikings.org under “Information.”

Despite fewer volunteers, longer hours, local food pantries soldier on

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Volunteers Captain Gombojav, left, and Lucas Gombojav, right, prepare food boxes before the opening at China Community Food Pantry. (photo by Ann Austin)

by Eric W. Austin

Pervasive in my discussions with local food pantries is a sense of profound gratefulness.

“We have been receiving monetary and food donations from many residents,” says Vassalboro Food Station director Cindy Ferland. “The community support has been tremendous.”

Volunteer Dale Peabody sets up food boxes on the front porch of China Community Food Pantry. (photo by Ann Austin)

Food pantries in China, Winslow, Albion and Palermo expressed similar sentiments.

“There are very generous and thoughtful people in our community,” writes June Foshay, manager of Palermo’s food pantry, in an email response to my inquiry.

“It’s gratifying to receive so much community support,” says Ann Austin, director of China Community Food Pantry.

When Maine declared a state of emergency over the COVID-19 pandemic, local food pantries were on the front lines.

Winslow’s Community Cupboard was forced to move up their plans to launch because of the crisis. “Our intent was to open a local food pantry in September 2020,” assistant operations manager Anna Quattrucci recalls. “The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic hastened our journey along! We were encouraged by Good Shepherd Food Bank to accelerate our opening…and we did! Talk about hustle. We went from having no ready space, no food, and no organized plan, to being fully set up, stocked and ‘open for business’ in a few short weeks.”

Area food banks have scrambled to adjust to the new conditions created by the pandemic and have worked to help new clients suddenly in need because of the economic shutdown. “We have had families who have previously used food pantries to help with food insecurity,” says Quattrucci, “but have seen many for whom this is a first-ever experience due to job loss or non-essential business closings.”

The greatest challenge for local pantries has been the operational changes forced on them by the new social distancing safety rules.

“We had to change our operating process [from] letting clients come in and select the food they wanted to pre-filling boxes to place in their cars as they drive by,” says Vassalboro’s Cindy Ferland.

Other pantries, like Albion’s Loaves and Fishes Food Pantry, have opted for a “minimal contact” approach by severely limiting how many people can enter the pantry. Manager Russ Hamm says it’s added significantly to the time it takes to serve everyone.

“We’re going to have to take a longer time to supply people with their food needs,” he says. “Rather than doing it in two hours, it looks like it may take three or four.”

Volunteers Lucas Gombojav, left, and Donna Loveland, right, demonstrate how food boxes are delivered to clients while maintaining social distancing at China Food Pantry. (photo by Ann Austin)

Like Vassalboro, the China Community Food Pantry has also shifted to a drive-thru format. The new procedures keep volunteers and clients separated and maintains social distancing, but since food boxes must be prepared in advance, it means more work for volunteers.

And that’s been a challenge, as many of the dedicated volunteers food pantries used to count on are now in high risk categories.

Albion’s Russ Hamm says, “I normally have a team of six women, and four or five men to carry the bags and boxes [of food] under normal circumstances.” Now, though, he’s down to just four people – and that includes himself.

Vassalboro’s Cindy Ferland relates a similar experience: “The pantry has many elderly volunteers that are much more vulnerable and understandably have decided to stay away from the pantry,” she says. “Fortunately, we have a few VCS teachers that have some time and are willing to step in and help our operation weekly.” She adds, “Our challenge is finding volunteers to go to stores to shop for the pantry, given the restricted access and limited products available in stores.”

Volunteer Cathy Bourque fills food boxes at the China Community Food Pantry. (photo by Ann Austin)

China’s food pantry has been faced with a similar challenge. To comply with the new restrictions, they have focused on grouping volunteers in family units. “We have a husband and wife team that drives the van to pick up food,” says Ann Austin, pantry director, “and two boys from a local family do most of the heavy lifting.”

Once social distancing restrictions are lifted, pantries look forward to beefing up their volunteer base again. “When we eventually return to a ‘normal’ routine,” says Anna Quattrucci, of Winslow’s Com­munity Cupboard, “we will expand our volunteer team, as many have asked to be part of the work.”

Even with longer hours and fewer volunteers, most pantries do not report feeling overwhelmed – yet. However, this could change if the current crisis stretches from weeks into months.

“Overall the pantry is seeing a slight decrease in people coming in,” says Vassalboro Food Station manager Cindy Ferland. “The mix [of people] has changed, with new people that are self-employed and out of work coming in as they are not yet eligible for unemployment relief benefits. There has been a decrease in clients that receive SNAP benefits. The combination of dramatically increased SNAP benefits and the federal economic relief payments apparently has lessened their need for supplemental food.”

Russ Hamm, director of Albion’s Loaves and Fishes Food Pantry, agrees. “As far as the amount of people — that has fluctuated remarkably, in the sense that we’re not seeing quite as many people as we normally would, and I have a suspicion that everybody got their stimulus check. I think that has made a little bit of difference.”

All of this is good news, and it’s the result of the amazing generosity shown by local communities in this time of crisis and the dedicated work of pantry volunteers. However, if current economic conditions continue in the downward direction of recent weeks, local food pantries could be facing a rough road ahead, and continued support of these important resources will be essential.

To see a list of local community food pantries, their hours of operation and contact information, please visit this page.

Eric W. Austin writes about local community issues and can be reached at ericaustin@townline.org.

Community comes together for Easter egg and paper scavenger hunt in Vassalboro

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Eggs displayed outside St. Bridget’s Communtity Center. (photos courtesy of Victor Esposito)

Victor Esposito, along with a student’s parent, built two-foot tall Easter eggs, and brought them to JMG (Jobs for Maine Graduates) student’s home where they were painted. The eggs were then brought back to Esposito. From there they were distributed throughout Vassalboro. Meanwhile, Donald, Lisa and Jessica Breton organized a paper egg scavenger hunt. There was a good turnout for the event, according to organizers.

Victor Esposito is the JMG Master Specialist at Vassalboro Community School.

Photo courtesy of Victor Esposito

Photo courtesy of Victor Esposito

Photo courtesy of Victor Esposito

Solar energy, Vassalboro transfer station fixes top agenda

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by Mary Grow

In addition to the 2020-21 budget, Vassalboro selectmen made progress on two other ongoing issues, solar energy and transfer station improvements, at their April 16 meeting.

Plans to add a large amount of solar energy to the town’s energy mix started as a voter-approved proposal to develop a solar array in town. After only two companies reached the point of submitting specific proposals, and one proposal was not to build in town, the plan changed to buying energy from an out-of-town project.

The decision where to buy energy has been and still is an administrative decision, selectmen said, and they can proceed without asking voters’ endorsement of the plan.

Consequently, on April 16 they unanimously authorized Town Manager Mary Sabins to sign an agreement to buy power from a planned development engineered by ReVision Energy, once the proposed contract has been reviewed by an attorney, the school board has agreed to participate and the Solar Committee has approved.

ReVision representative Andrew Kahrl said the contract the town will sign will be with the project owners/financiers, not with Revision. ReVision will build the solar array and will continue to be a contact for power buyers.

Vassalboro reschedules town meeting

Vassalboro selectmen have rescheduled the annual town meeting from Monday, June 1, to Monday, June 22, with municipal elections to follow Tuesday, June 23, instead of Tuesday, June 9. Selectmen might postpone both parts of the meeting again if the state shutdown has not ended by June 22.

The June 22 open meeting includes electing budget committee members and acting on policy issues and 2020-21 school and municipal budgets. The June 23 elections are for one seat on the board of selectmen – Barbara Redmond is unopposed – and two seats on the school board – Zachary Smith and incumbent Erin Loiko are unopposed.

The June 22 open meeting includes electing budget committee members and acting on policy issues and 2020-21 school and municipal budgets. The June 23 elections are for one seat on the board of selectmen – Barbara Redmond is unopposed – and two seats on the school board – Zachary Smith and incumbent Erin Loiko are unopposed.

The next project in line is planned in Skowhegan, he said. Output will be sold on a first-come basis, and several other municipalities are considering contracting. Kahrl hopes the Skowhegan project will be producing power early in 2021; if Vassalboro does not join, the next opportunity will probably be in production by the summer of 2021.

On his advice, Vassalboro will buy enough solar power to cover about 80 percent of local needs, to avoid buying an oversupply if needs decrease. The plan is to include the school’s electrical needs as a separate account, an arrangement acceptable to ReVision.

Kahrl said the proposed contract, which board Chairman Lauchlin Titus called “mind-boggling,” has been reviewed by attorneys for other municipalities.

Estimated savings over a 20-year contract are projected at around $600,000, and Kahrl said power production should continue beyond 20 years. Titus estimated more than half the savings would accrue to the school department, based on education’s share of the total town budget.

Selectmen expected the school board to give final approval within a few days, so the contract could be signed the week of April 20.

Also joining the April 16 virtual meeting was engineer Al Hodsdon, of Waterville, to confirm his assignment: develop a plan for the transfer station that would focus on a new trash hopper on a secure footing, to replace aging components and improve efficiency.

Auxiliary assignments, if possible within the maximum $100,000 budget, would be to design a place for the old compactor to become a back-up and consider moving the entrance onto Lombard Dam Road farther east, to improve sight distance. The $100,000 includes the new compactor and Hodsdon’s fee for engineering.

Selectmen took two other non-budgetary actions:

  • They voted unanimously to postpone interest on taxes unpaid after the April 27 deadline (the fourth 2019-20 quarterly payment) until the end of the state emergency declaration or June 30, whichever comes first. Normally, interest begins to accrue seven days after each quarterly due date, by town meeting vote.
  • They appointed Meridith Cain a member of the Trail Committee.
    The next regular Vassalboro selectmen’s meeting is scheduled for Thursday, April 30. It is expected to be another virtual meeting that can be viewed at vcsvikings.org.

Vassalboro school budget will not increase town’s tax rate

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Vassalboro Community School. (source: jmg.org)

by Mary Grow

Vassalboro School Board members have given preliminary approval to a 2020-21 school budget that, for the second year in a row, will not increase the town’s tax rate.

At the April 14 school board meeting, board members thanked Superintendent Alan Pfeiffer, who in turn thanked staff members at Vassalboro Community School (VCS) and in the regional school consortium and Town Manager Mary Sabins.

At the joint meeting with the budget committee that followed the school soard meeting, board member Jolene Gamage warned budget committee members and people watching the virtual meetings that the flat tax cannot last forever.

“It’s not fair to the kids,” she said, to postpone building maintenance, updated textbooks and other expenditures indefinitely.

Another budget-related issue was discussion of the decision to reduce the Gifted and Talented teacher’s position from five to three days a week. Gamage said she received an email questioning the balance between supporting gifted students and supporting those who qualify for the extra help provided by special education services.

Board Chairman Kevin Levasseur agreed with Gamage that families move to Vassalboro because of its high-quality special education program.

“That’s who we are. That’s who we’ve been for a number of years,” Levasseur said.

Pfeiffer estimates between three and five percent of VCS students are identified as gifted and talented. About 27 percent qualify for special education, he said.

The summary sheet for the overall budget shows almost $1.469 million for special education and more than $3.477 million for VCS (essentially, pre-kindergarten through eighth-grade regular education, including the Gifted and Talented program). The third major category in the $7.967 million dollar budget is tuition, at slightly over $2 million.

In addition to next year’s budget, board members made decisions and heard reports on various school-related activities.

They unanimously approved keeping VCS closed until further notice and resuming in-building classes only when recommended by Governor Janet Mills, the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Maine Department of Education (DOE). They hope that classes can reconvene for a day or two this spring to ease the transition into summer vacation and fall classes.

Pfeiffer said after surveying staff members, he recommended that virtual teaching continue through what would have been April vacation. Skipping vacation and other schedule adjustments made it possible to move the last day of classes to Friday, June 5. Board members unanimously approved.

The preliminary 2020-21 calendar has classes beginning Tuesday, Aug. 25. Pfeiffer said the proposed calendar is coordinated with Waterville and Winslow high schools and Erskine Academy.

Principal Megan Allen described some modifications to the virtual learning schedule that started in March. The virtual learning is “basically refining skills” rather than adding new educational content, she said.

Plans for the near future include virtual parent-teacher conferences; making it easier for students to access computers; and distributing a newsletter, both in printed copies around town and on the VCS website. The pre-kindergarten screening originally scheduled for late April is postponed.

Vassalboro school buses are still delivering meals. Assistant Principal Aaron McCullough said on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays volunteers assemble in the VCS kitchen to pack 390 bags with two breakfasts and 390 more with two lunches. Other volunteers ride the bus routes to deliver the free meals wherever a student’s family is waiting.

School board members unanimously approved continued participation in the town’s solar energy project. First intended to create a solar farm somewhere in Vassalboro, the plan is now amended to buy power from a solar development outside town boundaries.

After a special April 20 meeting that included information from and discussion with attorney Aga Dixon, of Drummond Woodsum, the Portland firm consulted by many Maine school officials, school board members did not take the final step of agreeing to a contract to buy solar power. Instead, they plan to hold another special meeting Tuesday evening, April 28.

The next regular Vassalboro School board meeting is scheduled for Tuesday evening, May 19, and is planned as a virtual meeting.

Vassalboro selectmen, school board, budget committee agree on proposed 2020-21 budget

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by Mary Grow

In successive meetings April 14 and 16, Vassalboro Budget Committee members reviewed and endorsed proposed 2020-21 school and municipal budgets. They reviewed an almost-final draft of the town meeting warrant and agreed with selectmen’s and school board members’ recommendations on proposed expenditures.

Because the annual town meeting at which voters act on the next year’s budget has been postponed to June 22 (tentatively), Town Manager Mary Sabins and the school department have extra time to put the warrant in final form.

The proposed budgets in their current forms will leave the Vassalboro tax rate where it is this year. The amount of money needed from taxation has increased; however, Town Manager Mary Sabins expects property valuation will also have increased due to new construction so that the money will come from a bigger base. If, as Sabins expects, the assessor increases all valuations by at least five percent, to come closer to state standards, each taxpayer’s valuation will increase but the rate should go down enough to balance the increase.

However, there are still budget uncertainties. For example, Selectman John Melrose said the Kennebec County budget might increase more than selectmen expect. Revenues from the state and federal governments are less certain than usual in the current economic situation.

Since school board members began budget review in mid-March, they have reduced the money needed from taxation by more than $295,000, partly by deleting items and partly by reallocating funding to other sources.

Major deletions from the initial proposed budget include reducing insurance costs, after the increase for 2020-21 came in at less than one percent; cutting two full-time positions, Gifted and Talented and librarian/media specialist, to 3/5 positions; and refiguring the tuition account.

The school department has transferred half a special education secretary’s salary and benefits to MaineCare.

Two new expenditures that board members consider essential are replacing the antiquated and unreliable telephone/intercom system and hiring a math specialist in addition to the reading specialist (a position VCS has had for years that will be filled by a new person in the fall as Kathy Cioppa retires). The budget approved April 14 pays for the first-year telephone/intercom lease with money saved during the current shutdown and for the math specialist from Title I federal funds.

Budget committee members have repeatedly asked how much money the shutdown is saving. Superintendent Alan Pfeiffer said the administration is keeping track but not yet totaling figures. He estimated up to $40,000 will not be spent on heating the building, using buses daily and for field trips, hiring substitute teachers, paying coaches’ stipends for spring sports and other items.

Regional school association staff now need to translate the budget accepted by the School Board into the warrant articles required by the state.

The draft municipal budget, like the school budget, should have no effect on the tax rate, assuming no major changes in non-tax revenues or required expenditures.

At their April 16 meeting selectmen made decisions on previously-discussed topics (see The Town Line, April 9 and also here).

They are not recommending a pay freeze for staff, nor are they recommending additional pay increases in the public works department based on length of service. Sabins polled five nearby towns and found their raises will proceed as planned, and Vassalboro school officials intend to honor contractual pay increases. Sabins said municipal employees are scheduled to get a 2.5 percent increase.

Board Chairman Lauchlin Titus said so far there is no sign that the world-wide drop in oil prices will translate into lower paving costs by summer. Selectmen added $16,000 from undesignated fund balance to the paving budget to reduce demand on taxes. If paving costs do drop, they hope to do additional work, for example, paving at least part of the town garage driveway.

The volunteer fire department’s request for a new fire truck is in the town meeting warrant, under terms that would postpone the first payment from taxation until the summer of 2023. However, the selectmen unanimously and the budget committee by a 6-2 vote (with two abstentions) advise voters to reject the article.

Titus said out of respect for the firefighters, he wanted the article presented to voters; but, he told budget committee members, he thinks “it’s a big commitment for the town to enter into in the current situation.”

Vassalboro budget committee and school board members come to three conclusions

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by Mary Grow

Two Vassalboro Budget Committee meetings April 7 and 9 plus an April 7 school board meeting led to three conclusions.

The first was that nobody had final figures for a 2020-21 school budget, and if the town meeting were to be postponed from June 1, both committees might have their April deadlines extended. Gov. Janet Mills’ April 10 announcement moving the primary election from June 10 to July 14 made a local extension more likely; selectmen will probably decide at their April 16 meeting.

The second conclusion was that under the circumstances, town officials must make every effort to limit spending and, if possible, hold the 2020-21 tax rate at or below the current year’s rate. Below is preferable, several budget committee members said, because of the planned town-wide valuation increase that will increase tax bills even if the tax rate is unchanged.

Town Manager Mary Sabins notified committees of the impending increase, needed to realign Vassalboro valuations with state valuations and avoid, or at least delay, a costly town-wide revaluation.

The third conclusion, primarily among school board members, is that no matter how tight the budget, cutting items essential for education and for safety is a bad idea. After this spring’s disruption, students will be likely to need more help than usual in the fall, Superintendent Alan Pfeiffer and Vassalboro Community School Principal Megan Allen agreed.

The school board has reduced two positions, the Gifted and Talented teacher and the librarian, from full-time to three days a week. One position was eliminated from special education earlier in the year, Pfeiffer said.

He, Allen and School Board Chairman Kevin Levasseur all strongly support the one new position planned, a math specialist who would work with the new literacy specialist (needed to replace Kathy Cioppa, who is retiring) to expand assistance to students needing extra help.

After discussion, school board members abandoned their earlier proposal to eliminate funding for a new telephone and intercom system, considering it necessary for safety. The current one is unreliable, Technical Systems Administrator/Teacher David Trask said, and the only way to tell it’s not working is to try to use it – not a good situation in an emergency.

When budget committee members joined the virtual school board meeting, school board members explained the importance of the additional staff member and the telephone/intercom. The former is budgeted at barely over $65,000 for 2020-21, the latter at about $16,000 for the first year of a five-year lease-purchase agreement.

Asked about deferring staff raises, Levasseur said the issue would require negotiation with staff unions, currently in the second year of a three-year contract.

Asked about potential savings from the current shutdown, Pfeiffer said they are being tracked. He foresees savings in several areas – building heat, bus runs, substitute teachers – but has no figures yet.

Levasseur proposed taking more than planned from the school’s undesignated surplus account to reduce the impact on next year’s taxes.

With no final figures on either school or municipal budget requests, and without the crystal ball Chairman Rick Denico wished he had, the April 9 budget committee meeting was short.

Fire department officials Walker Thompson, Bob Williams and Michael Vashon joined the beginning of the meeting to talk about the need for a new fire truck.

Thompson described truck #15, the oldest truck at the Riverside fire station, as “unreliable,” in need of close to $20,000 worth of repairs and mostly out of service already, except that it carries the department’s extrication equipment, which will be transferred to another truck soon. Department officials are making plans to acquire a replacement in the summer of 2021, on lease-purchase, at a total price of around 334,000. The timing of the need for a first payment from taxation will depend on use of the reserve fund and whether the department can get a grant toward the cost.

Between August 2020, when #15’s inspection sticker expires, and the arrival of a new truck in the summer of 2021, Thompson said Vassalboro will rely on mutual aid from Augusta to supply an attack truck for southern Vassalboro.

After the firefighters signed out, staff salaries were a major topic, with Budget Committee members asking whether town and school employees would consider a pay freeze for next year.

Trask, president of the Vassalboro Teachers’ Association, reminded his virtual audience that school staff went through several years of postponed raises early in this century that made their contractual pay scale a hollow shell. In recent years, he said, they have begun to catch up; but Vassalboro school salaries are still so far behind other area schools that hiring and keeping staff is a problem.

As of April 9, the future virtual meeting schedule was as follows Tuesday, April 14, school board at 5:45 p.m. joined by budget committee members at 7 p.m.; and Thursday, April 16, selectmen at 1 p.m. – note daytime meeting – and budget committee at 7 p.m. Interested residents may watch the meetings live on the website by clicking on Information.

Uncertainties persist as Vassalboro selectmen, budget committee prepare budget

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by Mary Grow

In a normal year, Vassalboro selectmen and Budget Committee members get increasingly reliable figures as they move through the municipal budget process, from initial requests in January to definite figures in April for town meeting voters’ action in June.

In 2020 uncertainties are increasing as fast as they’re decreasing, on both the revenue and the expenditure side.

Selectmen held a virtual budget workshop in March 31, and on April 2, after their regular meeting (see below/above/p. ), they and budget committee members talked virtually for another hour and a half.

The goal shared by both committees, but not necessarily with the same specifics, is to provide for municipal needs at a price taxpayers can afford.

In addition to property taxes, revenue comes from excise taxes on motor vehicles, fees, the state and federal governments and other sources. The school budget, which selectmen do not control, is the major annual expenditure. Revenues also support town government and the county tax.

On the revenue side, a major uncertainty is the effect of the economic downturn on state and federal aid to towns and cities.

Another question raised at the municipal budget meetings and earlier among school board members was the effect of unemployment on taxpayers’ ability to pay 2020-21 taxes.

On expenditures, selectmen recommend increasing town support for the First Responders, on the ground of increased need, and increasing the total for firefighters’ stipends, based on current-year expenditures.

They expect the Kennebec County budget request, and therefore Vassalboro’s county tax, will increase, because of additional local responsibilities (see The Town Line, Feb. 27, and March 12). Selectman John Melrose, Vassalboro’s representative on the county budget committee, said budget discussions haven’t yet started.

The draft 2020-21 budget calls for increased funds for road paving, because, Melrose said at the March 12 selectmen’s meeting, after several years of too-little repaving, Vassalboro has begun to catch up. Road Foreman Eugene Field thinks it possible that if oil prices stay low, the price of paving will be lower than expected.

Selectmen reached consensus on reducing several suggested or requested expenditures, including lowering estimated insurance costs; not increasing their own stipends; and eliminating a proposed part-time public works position and not supporting Field’s requested pay increases for veteran employees (see The Town Line, March 19).

The last item led to a recommendation for a later review of longevity provisions in the town’s personnel policy.

Also to be discussed at a later meeting are the Historical Society’s request for a $5,000 donation toward a $45,000 metal storage building (see The Town Line, March 19,).

Selectmen did not delete a request for $2,000 to continue plans to observe Vassalboro’s 250th anniversary (sestercentennial) in 2021. Melrose, with assistance from Fieldstone Gardens, has started anniversary improvements at the East Vassalboro memorial park.

Two major timing questions not yet resolved are when to buy a new town truck and a new fire truck.

No final decisions on municipal budget amounts were made, primarily because budget committee members want to see the final school budget first.

Town Manager Mary Sabins reported that Vassalboro’s overall property valuation has fallen below the level acceptable to the state. Therefore, she said, assessor Ellery Bane intends a town-wide valuation of at least five percent, perhaps 10 percent.

In addition, Sabins proposes asking Bane to begin the first of four quarterly reviews in 2020-21, during which he and his staff will visit about a quarter of the properties in town looking for changes that will affect individual valuations. The review will cost money, she said, but on the basis of past experience, it will bring in more money, from previously-unrecorded changes that increase valuation, than it will cost.

Board Chairman Lauchlin Titus favors proceeding with the quarterly review.

As of April 2, Sabins did not know whether Vassalboro’s June 1 town meeting can be held as scheduled. On the assumption that it will, budget committee members tentatively scheduled April 7 and April 9 meetings, the former to follow a tentatively-scheduled school board meeting.

Vassalboro’s virtual public meetings are announced on the school website, vcsvikings.org, under Information and can be watched there. As of April 6, the website listed the April 7 school board and budget committee meetings and the April 9 budget committee meeting, scheduled for 7 p.m.