Annual meeting set for March 17

By Stuart Hedstrom 
Staff Writer
   

BROWNVILLE — On Monday, March 17, at 7 p.m. at the Brownville Elementary School, residents will attend the annual town meeting to vote on articles comprising the 2014-15 town of Brownville municipal budget. The several dozen articles making up the town meeting warrant were formally approved by the selectmen during a Feb. 12 meeting.

    “We actually increased our fund balance in a bad year, that is from all the work the staff did in their budgets,” Town Manager Matthew Pineo said about projections with the 2015 fiscal year budget. “All in all the staff has done a great job and the townspeople should be proud.”
    Pineo said town officials are still awaiting some audit information and then, after any needed amendments, the town meeting warrant articles will be posted, at least 14 days prior to the March 17 meeting.
    Brownville residents’ tax bills cover the municipal budget, the community’s share of costs for SAD 41 as well as a portion of the Piscataquis County budget. During the meeting the selectmen signed the town’s portion of the county budget for 2014, which is $74,446.
    Piscataquis County contracts with several municipalities for fire coverage in nearby townships, and Brownville will cover several unorganized territories for the next year through a one-year, $18,000 contract. Pineo said Sebec has also signed the agreement and the Milo selectmen will discuss and possibly sign at a future meeting.
    He said the county agreed to a year’s extension due to the budget timelines for Brownville and Milo, which both have March town meetings, and Sebec. Longer-term fire contract negotiations will start later in the year.
    In other business, the board accepted a little more than $2,500 from the Attorney General’s Office for the police department. The funds were cash seized in a drug bust by the Brownville department, and Pineo asked that the approximate $2,500 be placed in the cruiser account which the selectmen approved.
    Pineo also brought forward information on an Efficiency Maine program that can provide rebates for the state’s citizens who carry out energy-saving measures on their homes. “We have to set an ordinance by town meeting,” he said in order for residents to be eligible for the rebates and financing on heat pumps, insulation and other home improvements. The selectmen will look over the documents and could discuss the item again at their March 5 meeting.
    Before the 6:30 p.m. meeting on Wednesday, March 5 will be a 6 p.m. public hearing concerning an application for CDBG funding of up to $350,000 for the General Store and More to become a full-service grocery store with a move of the gas pump stations and renovation of the existing overnight cabins and construction of four new units.
    “There are a lot of projects coming up for Brownville right now,” Pineo said, as earlier in the evening was a hearing on a grant application for equipment and kitchen remodeling at Wildwoods. He said another project being discussed with the state is on adding a snowmobile crossing to bridge work, as well as water and sewer line work.