Guilford voters pass all articles intact

Land use ordinance changed to permit
chickens in urban area

By Mike Lange
Staff Writer

    GUILFORD — Residents of Guilford appeared to be content with their government as all town meeting articles passed Monday night with little or no opposition.
    An estimated 60 residents approved a $2.55 million gross budget, up from $2.49 the previous year. Although the municipal budget was down 1 percent, county taxes are up and the town’s share of the School Administrative District 4 budget is expected to rise by about 5 percent.

    Incumbent Selectmen Peter Martell and Mike Dexter were both re-elected after facing the same two challengers who were nominated from the floor.
    Martell was the top choice in the first election with 31 votes with Brian Levensalor finishing second with 11 votes and Lou Sidell coming in third with nine.
    The results of the second round of balloting were Dexter, 26; Levensalor, 18; and Sidell, six.
    Brenda Gourley and Patricia White were both elected to the SAD 4 Board of Directors unopposed.
    Voters at the 80-minute meeting also approved a change in the town’s land use ordinance to permit residents to raise up to 12 hens in the urban area of the community, generally defined as neighborhoods with municipal water and sewer service.
    A petition was drafted and circulated last year by Haylee Williams, a Piscataquis Community High School senior, who did considerable research on similar laws in other towns before presenting the proposal to the Guilford Planning Board.
    Town Manager Tom Goulette outlined some of the highlights of the ordinance which specifies that residents can raise “up to 12 hens – no roosters allowed – and they have to be kept in an enclosure so they don’t run into your neighbor’s yard.”
    There are also specifications on setbacks and manure disposal along with penalties for infractions.
    After the voice vote, Goulette praised Williams for her “civic involvement and commitment” and the audience gave her a nice round of applause.
    Some of the articles that sparked discussion included a normally routine measure on disposing of tax-acquired property and a newly-created capital investment plan.
    Robert Shaffer offered an amendment that would have required sealed bids on the sale of tax-acquired property, but Goulette said that the process is often expensive and counterproductive.
    State Rep. Paul Stearns also noted that some property owners who fall behind on their taxes are often assisted by friends or relatives who may not be aware of the existence of a sealed bid. Shaffer’s amendment was defeated 37-16.
The $70,000 capital investment plan was due to the expiration of a 20-year tax increment financing (TIF) plan for True Textiles’ Saulter plant. It originally allowed transfer of all property taxes back to the company, often as much as $300,000 a year. The 100 percent transfer was “unusual at the time,” Goulette said, but noted that there was a good possibility that the new plant would have been built in Eastport if they didn’t get the local tax break.
    Due to depreciation of equipment, the plant’s annual tax bill is now estimated at $129,000, said Goulette.  “This year, the town keeps that amount,” he explained. “But the town can’t keep anything unless there’s a budget item to appropriate the money.”
    The capital investment plan would be used to replace town equipment such as a backhoe, dump truck or outdated office computers. “Computers are almost obsolete by the time you get them home,” he quipped. “But after three years, you certainly need to change them.
    The balance of the new levy – approximately $59,000 – would be used to offset property taxes. The article passed easily by voice vote.