Ashland approves $1.2 million budget

    ASHLAND, Maine – In one of the quickest town meetings Town Manager Jim Gardner said he’s ever attended, on March 20 citizens passed the annual budget totaling $1,252,550.
    “The meeting took all of 17 minutes, from beginning to end,” said Gardner. “There were about 45 residents in attendance.”
Ashland has approximately 1,100 registered voters.
Gardner credits the short amount of time it took to approve the budget to the fact he’s been making a real effort  –ing to get out and talk to people in the community. “It goes back to getting out on the street, talking to those we serve,” said Gardner.
The 2007 budget is up slightly from last year.
“The budget is up about 6 percent over last year’s figure. The increase is largely due to the increased cost of utilities, fuel and insurance,” he said.
During the meeting, citizens also voted on two Town Council positions.
“The citizens voted in Dave Milligan and Lawrence Michaud, who ran unopposed, for three-year terms on the Town Council,” said Gardner.
Gardner was impressed with how efficiently the process went at the meeting, noting there was little discussion before voting got under way.
“It was one of the quickest meetings I’ve ever been to,” said Gardner. “It’s nice when things go smoothly. When you have everything in order and all the details are worked out, it’s a pretty smooth process.”