Staff Writer
LIMESTONE — The Limestone Parks and Recreation Department very nearly saw a drastic slash in funding during the annual Town Meeting last Wednesday; a relatively small cohort of Limestone voters who gathered in the auditorium of the Limestone Community School heavily questioned the necessity of having a full-time Director of the Parks and Recreation Department and for most of the meeting, it looked as if the department would see significant budget cuts. At one point, the voters entertained a motion to reduce funding by over half. As the Parks and Recreation budget was one of the first articles discussed at the town meeting, moderator Robert Edgecomb moved ahead with the agenda when it became clear that the voters were undecided about funding the department and returned to it at a later point in the meeting. The voters then decided to allocate $82,630 for the department, which was $2,640 less than the recommendation of both the Limestone Board of Selectpeople and the Budget Committee but consistent with last years spending.
The voters were not eager to part with funds for the FY11 budget and were more than willing to enter extended deliberation in order to ensure that the money they appropriated was going exactly where they thought it should. Many reserve accounts were tapped into in order to meet budgetary needs for the coming fiscal year and few reserve accounts were bolstered with additional fund.
In addition to the scrutinized Parks and Recreation budget, the town closely examined the necessity for allocating $48,000 for community development and the need to appropriate $20,000 for a new Public Works backhoe.
Despite the thoughtful frugality of the voters in attendance, the town Mil rate is looking to increase from the current 22 to 23.5. Town Manager Donna Bernier explained that this was because the Limestone commitment for the RSU 39 budget came in about $80,000 higher than anticipated.
In a straw pole, the town agreed to send their selectpeople a message regarding the desire of the Limestone voter to use unappropriated funding from the RSU 39 reserve account to reduce the town’s commitment and possible spare the Mil increase.
The next meeting of the Limestone Selectpeople is scheduled for Wednesday night at 6:30 in the Limestone Municipal Building; this will be the first meeting for newly elected selectpeople Jim Pelletier and Thomas Devoe. During the meeting, the selectpeople plan on reviewing the results of the town meeting and considering the request to the RSU 39 board of directors.
