By Gloria Austin
Staff Writer
HOULTON — With the state’s budget still in flux, as the Governor has vetoed the budget presented by the legislature, which they can vote to override today, the town of Houlton still doesn’t know exact figures that may increase citizens’ taxes.
With different scenarios presented to Town Manager Eugene Conlogue by Laureen Bither, tax assessor for Houlton and Nedra Hanson, town treasurer, it looks like taxes could go up 1 mil or more.
The town of Houlton will have to make up as much as $214,000 due to a shortfall in revenue sharing and state aid for education.
“We will soon be back to $22 a mil,” said Chairman Paul Cleary. “Our undesignated fund balance/surplus is low because of instead of a tax increase we took money from that to help make up the deficit … to hold the mil rate. Now, we have no surplus to offset increases.”
The one line item that affected the town’s budget the most, passed at the polls on June 18 … was the school budget.
Houlton resident Philip Bernaiche was disappointed by voter turnout and addressed the council during public hearing at Monday’s town council.
“It is difficult to believe that out of 3,800 voters in our small town that we only had 87 yes and 82 no,” he said. “If you have the time you should educate our public that it makes a difference when they vote. Also, that this town of Houlton needs support. We are not getting it. We have a budget coming up and the ones that said yes maybe we ought to send all the bill to them so they can help deal out the pay.
“It is so sad when you can only get 169 people to the polls out of 3,800 … it will make you [pretty near] cry,” added Bernaiche. “There are people in the town who can’t afford the way things are going now because of recession. I really don’t know what people are thinking. I guess we can’t drag them to the polls. But, at least they have an opportunity. This town belongs to them. It doesn’t belong to anyone else, but them.”
Councilor John White echoed Bernaiche’s sentiment in closing remarks.
“The voter turnout was awful,” White said. “Three percent of registered voters came out to vote for a $12 million budget. You couldn’t take three minutes out of your day to go vote on the biggest line item in our budget. But, as we have heard tonight, taxes are going up.
“It literally took me three minutes to park my vehicle, go inside the rec to vote and leave,” he added. “Twelve million dollars people and you don’t care. As a councilor, I am always here to listen to what people think and I always try to represent what I think the majority want. People of this town always want to complain, but they can’t take three minutes out of their day … it makes me feel like why am I even here and why do I care?”
White finished by telling the town manager, as far as he was concerned, “the checkbook is open.”
“Whatever you want to spend or whatever you deem fit, I am not voting against anything else from here until November,” added White.
In new business, the council appointed for one year, the town clerk, Cathy O’Leary, along with Houlton Police Chief Butch Asselin, Code Enforcement Officer Kevin Tingley, Councilors Sue Tortello and Phil Cloney and Houlton residents Priscilla Monroe and Donna Barnard and the town manager to the Ordinance Review Committee.
Five proposals were received for hockey dasher boards at Millar Civic Center. The only company that sent a representative to the Shiretown to look at the civic center arena and do measurements, ask questions and make suggestions was Becker Arena Products of Minnesota.
“Going through our specs and his experience/recommendations, he created for us a special package that didn’t necessarily follow our original specifications to a tee,” said Conlogue. “What he did was enhance it and made it more applicable to our facility.”
The Becker Arena Product representative recommended steel frame versus aluminum for more durability; to put the boards on the cold part of the floor instead of the warm as they have been in the past for savings in heat loss; and to replace protective acrylic with tempered glass, which is held by clips instead of metal strips that obscure vision.
Becker Arena Products price ($148,369.52) includes the boards, delivery and installation, which would be completed by the week of Sept. 30.
Cleary added he didn’t think there would be a problem with fundraising for the boards and even creating a capital improvement fund for the civic center.
The council has $75,000 set aside for the boards — $25,000 to be paid back in a loan over five years — and they would have to borrow the remaining amount to have the boards paid for now. That additional money would come in the form of a loan, hopefully to be paid back through fund-raising efforts.
Cleary didn’t think it would be a problem to raise money to pay off the second loan.
If the fundraising is unsuccessful, taxpayers will incur the costs.
The town manager noted there would be the official dedication of the “Welcome to Houlton” sign at its site, followed by another dedication in the memory of Dallas Henderson at the town chambers at 2:30 p.m.
Council had asked Conlogue at the last meeting to put together a budget of ‘what if’ scenarios where town services can be reduced or eliminated.
In other business, the council:
• Approved the renewal of a liquor license for Tang’s Chinese Cuisine.
• Accepted a bid of $11,200 from Honeywell, Inc. for heat exchanger repair at Millar Civic Center.
• Accepted donations from Kevin Carmichael Masonry in the amount of $100 and Cyr & Sons Repair for $150 for the “Just For Kids” Playground project. There will be a Family Fun Zone Night on the lawn of the rec center on July 3. There will be bounce houses, face painting and other activities to add to the Midnight Madness event. The hope is that money raised at the Family Fun Zone Night will help with cost of playground and hockey boards.
• Accepted $500 grant from Healthy Aroostook toward the cost of new volleyball stands for Gentle Memorial Building. The total cost is $780.
• Accepted $22,500 from Emergency Watershed Protection Funding from USDA for June 2012 rainstorm event. It is an 80-20 percent split with the town matching $4,500.
• Accepted $2,135 in donations for DARE program.
• Council accepted a $100 donation from Houlton Rotary to be used toward maintenance of Boy with the Leaking Boot monument.
