Orient town meeting set

By Joseph Cyr
Staff Writer
    ORIENT — Change may soon be taking place as the town is looking for two individuals to serve on the Orient Board of Selectmen.
    According to Town Clerk Alicia Silkey, two of the three seats on the board are up for grabs after board members Terry Silkey and Don Ellis resigned. That left just one person, Victor Alexander, on the town’s municipal board. Terry Silkey, Alicia’s husband, agreed to come back temporarily until a replacement could be chosen at this year’s town meeting.
    Registered voters can cast their ballots Monday, Aug. 27 from 3-7 p.m. at the town office. Two seats on the Board of Selectmen, as well as three seats on the Orient School Board are available. The annual town meeting follows on Tuesday, Aug. 28 at 6 p.m. at the town office.
    Two candidates — newcomer Pam Bourgeois and Mary Beth Foley (a former selectmen) — are seeking a three-year term on the select board.
    Two other candidates — Ed Vose and Richard Knight — are running for a one-year (unexpired) term.
    Three seats are open on the Orient School Board. Running unopposed for a three-year term is Dale Foley; seeking a two-year term is Barbara Sharpe; and three candidates, Annette Downey, Emily Putnam and Richard Rhoda.
    Silkey said she could not give a final budget figure because “I don’t know what the school is doing just yet.”
    “Our budget really hasn’t changed that much,” she said. “It will be about the same budget as last year, with the exception of a small increase to the transfer station account because of increased transfer fees.”
    Last year’s municipal budget was $487,435.
    Silkey, who has served as the town clerk for the past 11 years, said tempers have been flaring in the town to the point where a police officer had to be called to the last selectmen’s meeting to restore order. Silkey was re-elected to the position of town clerk for another three years with 49 written votes at last year’s town meeting. She was also re-elected as the town’s treasurer and tax collector for three more years.
    “This was the roughest year,” she said. “We had disagreements between two of our selectmen. Terry (Silkey) quit, but his resignation was not official because they had not had a selectmen’s meeting (to act on the resignation). Two weeks later, our chairman (Ellis) quit. Terry came back onboard just to get us through to town meeting, where a replacement could be chosen.”
    Silkey said much of the contention in Orient stems from issues between seasonal camp owners and year-round residents. Seasonal camp owners are not allowed to vote on town matters, unless they declare Orient as their primary residence.
    Taxes also took a jump last year when the mill rate was set at 12.10 mills. That figure was a major increase over the previous rate of 7.4 mils. She attributed the increased tax rate to a number of factors, including a loss of state revenue and increased heating and fuel costs.
    The town has also had to take out Tax Anticipation Notes (TAN) to cover municipal expenses because many were late in paying their taxes. Liens on properties have also increased dramatically in recent years, going from four or five in a year to nearly 30 in 2010.