PALERMO: Residents approve 33 articles at town meeting

Palermo town meeting. (courtesy of Will Armstrong)

Submitted by Will Armstrong
Deputy Clerk, Town of Palermo

Editor’s note: This story has been updated because of editing errors in last week’s issue.

The following is a summary of the Palermo town meeting, which was held last Saturday, March 12, 2022.

We had a great town meeting on Saturday, thanks to all our residents and guests who attended.

Moderator Dick Thompson presided over three hours of respectful questions and insightful dialogue as we practiced direct, participatory democracy. Thirty-three warrant articles were approved, including the highly anticipated Liberty Ambulance emergency transport contract; funding commitments for Palermo Days 2022, the Palermo Consolidated School eighth grade class trip, and a number of local charities; a revised article 21, which allocated $200,000 towards reducing the 2022 tax rate; and a comprehensive road paving and maintenance budget.

Thank you to Liberty Chief Bill Gillespie and Deputy Chief Earle Albert for addressing the meeting and thoughtfully answering questions about what this service change means for our residents; two of the most significant are Liberty Ambulance’s average response time of six minutes and an expansion of in-town paramedic service.

Results of the 2022 Palermo Town Election:

Assessor – Blake Brown (70 votes);

Road Commissioner – Steve Childs (67 votes);

Select Board – Pam Swift (70 votes);

General Assistance Administrator – Miriam Keller (75 votes).

Residents heard from several candidates for local offices: current Chief Deputy Jason Trundy (Waldo County Sheriff), Katrina Smith (Maine House District #62), and Palermo Select Board member Pam Swift (Maine House District #62).

Hunter Christiansen, a seventh grader at Palermo Consolidated School, spoke passionately about how meaningful the eighth grade class trips are and how important it was to him and his classmates to be able to travel next year; residents then unanimously approved that funding.ion, which seeks to improve and expand high-speed internet access in our towns. He also noted there were no foreclosures in Palermo this year.