Proposed Greenville budget expected to increase mill rate

By Mike Lange
Staff Writer

    GREENVILLE — The Greenville Board of Selectmen has recommended a $1.43 million municipal budget, up by $89,507 from last year.
    If approved, the town’s property taxes will increase .3 mills from $14.70 per $1,000 of assessed valuation to $15 even.
    Selectmen are expected to finalize the warrant at their Wednesday, May 6 meeting at 6:30 p.m.

    “Ironically, we dropped the mill rate by the same rate last year,” Town Manager John Simko said. “So we’re back to where we were two years ago.”
    Simko said that the public works and solid waste accounts are higher than last year and a new line item in the budget – information technology – “is something that’s been long overdue.”
    Like most municipalities, Greenville’s sand pile dwindled significantly due to the harsh winter. Unfortunately, the town has to pay to have the material screened this year, Simko said. “We haven’t had to do this for three years,” he said. “Fortunately, we also don’t have to pay for the service until we’re ready to receive the material.” However, Simko said that this service alone will add almost $20,000 to the public works budget.
    Greenville selectmen have also approved a five-year plan to renovate the public works garage; and this year’s recommended expenditure is $9,000 to install new, wider doors and replace the current interior and exterior lights with LEDs.
    Simko recommended $30,241 for IT services which would allow one consultant to oversee all the town’s software and computer systems – except for the Shaw Public Library. “This will alleviate a lot of problems,” the town manager said.
    The town negotiated a new contract with Moosehead Rubbish this year, so the pick-up costs will be calculated on a per diem basis rather than a flat fee, Simko said. “We budgeted on the high side since this is the first year we’ve tried it,” he said. “But we’re also anticipating more fees from outside communities that use our landfill.”
    Other items on Wednesday’s agenda include a report on a meeting scheduled for May 5 with Simko, Moosehead ATV Club President Ken Snowdon and the Maine DOT to determine the “end point” for the new ATV access route along Route 15 to Indian Hill.
    Superintendent of Schools David Morrill and John Simko have also been examining ways to combine the municipal and school department audits, and were to make a report to the board at this meeting.
    A public hearing is set on the municipal and school budgets for Wednesday, May 13 at the municipal building starting at 6 p.m.