Madawaska residents on Tuesday night approved a $10.5 million municipal expense budget, representing a $267,632 increase over the previous budget.
The increases are primarily due to salaries and benefits, including a 3% cost of living increase and an earned benefits time increase, Madawaska Town Manager David Daigle said.
Residents during the meeting also voted to fund several municipal reserve accounts, with the largest individual contribution being $200,000 to the road projects reserve account. Prior to the vote, the account had a balance of a little over $500.
One resident asked Town Manager David Daigle why the town meeting warrant included so many items related to reserve accounts.
“We have assets; we have old buildings,” Daigle said. “We find that it’s prudent at this time to save a little bit in the event that something breaks down.”
Other large contributions include $50,000 to the multi-purpose building’s heating system reserve account and $50,000 for the revaluation reserve account.
When asked what it would cost for the town to conduct a full revaluation, Daigle said it would cost between $430,000 and $450,000, adding that the town has roughly 3,500 parcels altogether.
Debt service in Madawaska will also increase by $212,044. This includes $64,710 for a sidewalk snowblower, $61,755 for ongoing work for the midtown revitalization project, and $51,821 for a 2027 international plow truck.
The two largest departmental increases were for police and ambulance services. The police budget increased by $73,471 and the ambulance budget went up by $77,393.
Madawaska’s school budget, which is separate from the municipal budget, increased by just 1.2% over the previous year. And while residents in Madawaska shot down the school budget last year, this year it was approved during a June 9 referendum, 483-349.
Residents during the June 9 election also voted for two new members of the town select board. Samuel Corey and Thomas Gerard were both voted in for three-year terms. They replaced board members Jason Boucher and Manon Bilodeau-Raymond, whose terms ended this year and who did not seek reelection.
