Initial draft of 2014-15 D-F budget includes .7-mil rate increase

By Stuart Hedstrom 
Staff Writer

    DOVER-FOXCROFT — The first draft of the proposed budget for the 2014-15 fiscal year was presented by Town Manager Jack Clukey during a Feb. 24 selectmen’s meeting.
    Clukey explained the spending plan provides for maintaining current levels of service and restores some funding to the capital budget that was cut last year. He said these items, along with a reduction in non-property tax revenue which includes cuts in revenue sharing in last year’s budget, result in an increase to the mil rate of .7 mils.

    “A lot of things are similar to last year,” Clukey said about various town programs, such as recreation and social services. “There are things that are not in here that we are going to have to address,” he added, such as additional funding for paved road improvements beyond the funding for road assistance provided by the state.
    “We do have some additional expenses in this budget and we have some new property tax revenue,” Clukey said. “On the tax side of things, when you look at the municipal side, we are looking at a seven tenths of a mil increase,” he said, before taking into account Dover-Foxcroft’s portion of the RSU 68 budget which will be determined in the late spring.
    The first draft of the 2014-15 budget takes into account already made cuts in the state budget, and does not factor in an estimated $40 million for Maine’s communities through the revenue sharing program which is scheduled to continue in the next fiscal year. “That’s assuming we are not losing anything more than has been cut last year, we are assuming the $40 million,” Clukey said.
    The 2015 budget includes full funding for the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency position, as is required by the grant agreement, and monies for an update of the town’s comprehensive plan. Clukey also said the budget does not include any new indebtedness.
    The Budget Advisory Committee is scheduled to meet on Wednesday evenings at 6:30 from March 5-26 at the Morton Avenue Municipal Building. On Wednesday, April 2 a public hearing is set for 6:30 p.m., and then the annual town meeting will take place on Saturday, April 26 at 9 a.m. in the Morton Avenue gymnasium to set the warrant article for June’s referendum.
    The Feb. 24 meeting included town officials talking with State Sen. Doug Thomas (R-Ripley) and State Rep. Paul Davis (R-Sangerville) about several issues facing Dover-Foxcroft, including revenue sharing. With the $40 million on the books Dover-Foxcroft expects to receive $214,500 from the state, and had the $40 million not been restored the town would receive $71,500. Revenue sharing is currently being funded at 2.05 percent, instead of the statutory 5 percent level.
    Sen. Thomas said he voted to restore the $40 million for revenue sharing, even though he felt the rainy day fund was not the place to take the money from. “The $40 million is off the table and the governor says that will become law,” he said.
    “We did vote to restore it,” Rep. Davis said. “I’m not convinced it’s a done deal yet though,” he said, advising town officials to not spend the funds until they are received — to which Sen. Thomas concurred.
    “Year after year we are faced with diminished revenue sharing and we still have the need to fund services,” Select Vice Chair Cindy Freeman Cyr said before asking the legislators how to improve the current economic climate.
    “I think the biggest problem we have is our economy is so slow,” Sen. Thomas said. He mentioned curbing MaineCare and EBT programs as possibilities to help the economy as well as using funds for Efficiency Maine and methadone programs elsewhere.
    “If we raise taxes it’s going to make it much more difficult for businesses to expand and hire people, and that’s the real problem,” he said.
    Rep. Davis said when he served as a state senator, Maine had a surplus. He said several years later MaineCare was expanded and “we have had trouble ever since.” Rep. Davis mentioned an example Sen. Thomas had brought up of one MaineCare patient making 145 trips in a year to the emergency room, with many of these visits being made by ambulance.
    “I truly believe we need to get some control in this and until we do there is going to be trouble,” he said. Rep. Davis said the economy is fragile, but there are some bright spots with several companies in the region doing well. He said he doesn’t want anything to happen that will hurt these businesses.
    Select Chair Elwood Edgerly said town officials seem to be having the same conversion year after year with the legislators about the need to change the state’s economic climate.
    Sen. Thomas said about $180 million in budget cuts, such as in Efficiency Maine, methadone clinics and less for the university system due to rising administration costs, has been proposed. “There are 186 of us down there, you have got to get 94 of us to agree and then you get the governor to sign it,” he said about changes to the budget.
    Selectman Benjamin Cabot asked if there are other issues the board should be aware of, and Rep. Davis again mentioned the $40 million in revenue sharing. “That $40 million could certainly be back on the table, and the expansion of the MaineCare system should concern you,” he said.
    In other business, four senior University of Maine nursing students — including one from Dover-Foxcroft — presented their findings on a radon study they conducted in town.
     Rebekah Flanders, who graduated from Foxcroft Academy 2010, explained in the fall she and three classmates completed a community assessment on the town of Dover-Foxcroft. They reviewed many of the community’s health patterns, and findings indicated the town is considered a “red zone” for radon gas levels which they then looked into further.
    “The major concern with radon is the health risks,” group member Elizabeth Chenevert said. She explained that radon is a naturally-occurring gas produced from the decay of uranium in soil and water and the gas is released into the air indoors and outdoors.
    Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer, after tobacco, in the U.S. There are no immediate symptoms associated with radon exposure, but the long-term consequences of exposure can be fatal.

Observer photo/Stuart Hedstrom

    RADON IN DOVER-FOXCROFT — Four University of Maine senior nursing students presented their findings on a study of radon in Dover-Foxcroft homes during the selectmen’s meeting on Feb. 24. The group includes Rebekah Flanders, right, of Dover-Foxcroft and a 2010 Foxcroft Academy graduate. Also pictured, standing behind Town Clerk Lisa Niles, are from left, Sylvia Paradis-Reynolds, Lindsay Thornton and Elizabeth Chenevert.

    “If high levels of radon are found in your home there are several different things you can do,” Lindsay Thornton said. These steps include choosing a licensed or certified radon mitigation contractor who can perform several different types of construction, depending on the home, which can be inexpensive and not involve major changes to the dwelling.
    Sylvia Paradis-Reynolds said they tested five Dover-Foxcroft homes and three were above the recommended safe level of radon, and the age of the home did not indicate a higher level of radon as the group hypothesized. She said hardware stores carry radon testing devices for homeowners to use.
    “The take-home message from nursing students is it’s a huge health risk,” Paradis-Reynolds said.
    In his town manager’s report, Clukey said work is starting again on the Riverfront Redevelopment property. “We are kind of in a seasonal slowdown in work at the Riverfront Redevelopment project,” he said at the site in town that most recently was the home of Moosehead Manufacturing. “They have moved a crew in for sandblasting and interior de-leading.”
    Clukey said the USDA has received an application for a renewable energy grant for the solar, geothermal and hydroelelectric portion of the project. He said project officials hope to have a concept design for the hydro upgrade approved by U.S. Fish and Wildlife and other agencies over the next few weeks.
    On Thursday, March 6 the planning board will hold a public hearing on the proposed amendments to the Land Use Ordinance, concerning impact fees and contract rezoning. The session will take place at the town office at 6:30 p.m.