Town meeting season begins – Patten

17 years ago
By Sarah Berthiaume
Staff Writer

    PATTEN — Patten voters will be asked to elect a slate of new officials and approve a decreased municipal budget when town meeting convenes next Tuesday.
    A $650,531 municipal budget is being proposed for the coming year, and town manager Terri Conklin said this amount is down about $50,000 from last year.
    Part of the change, she said, is a decrease in expenses from 2007. Last year, the town budgeted $7,200 to pay off a fire truck and spent $20,000 on a town truck, expenses that are part of this year’s budget. Also in 2007, Patten allocated $90,000 on road paving; this year, in an effort to reduce spending, only $30,000 has been designated for road paving.
    Other issues on the warrant include a supplemental law enforcement contract. The town entered into a contract with Penobscot County Sheriff’s Department last year. The town did initially get some extra patrol, but Conklin said that contract wasn’t fulfilled and the town wasn’t charged. This year, the proposed contract would be different, modeled after a similar program in Howland, and Patten could gain extra patrol time with the $12,000 contract. A representative from the Penobscot County Sheriff’s Department will be at the meeting to answer questions.
    At the polls, voters will elect one selectman to a 3-year term and two SAD 25 school board members to 3-year terms. Two candidates, Bruce Campbell and Raymond Thomas, are running for the seat on the Board of Selectmen being vacated by Jamey Cole. On the school board, the seats were held by Leslie Gardner and Colleen Schmidt. This year, only Leslie Gardner has taken out papers; the other vacancy will be filled by a write-in candidate.
    The annual town meeting will be held Tuesday, March 11. The polls will be open that day from noon to 6 p.m. and the meeting will be called to order at 7 p.m.; both will be at the Patten firehouse, 22 Dearborn St.