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There is a new dawn in Edgecomb. First-year Selectman Dawn Murray was elected chairman of the board June 2 by a 2-0 vote. She succeeds Mike Smith who has served as chairman since Jack Sarmanian’s resignation in October. As chairman, Murray led the.
BILL PEARSON
Edgecomb town hall. File photo
Davis Island residents were notified last week when a proposed two-tiered Wiscasset Water District rate increase would occur. And on May 3, Superintendent Chris Cossette explained why. Cossette met with Edgecomb selectmen about the proposed increase and discussed other issues floating around regional water issues. On July 1, Edgecomb (Davis Island) ratepayers will see a 19% rate increase which covers additional hydrant rental fees. Cossette reported the annual hydrant rental rate would increase to $1,954.31 or $234 more. In 2022, the second rate increase would bring the fee to $2,579. Davis Island is the only portion of Edgecomb the Wiscasset Water District serves.
BILL. PEARSON Mon, 04/26/2021 - 2:30pm
In 2005, Maine enacted LD 1 to limit municipal, school and county spending to no more than a 5% increase without a voter override. LD 1 requires voter authorization through a special warrant article in order to exceed annual spending by 5%. But in Edgecomb, the special article hasn’t been on the warrant for years. On April 20, selectmen were asked if the municipal budget would exceed the 5% increase, and if an LD 1 warrant article would appear on the May town meeting referendum ballot.
All three selectmen responded they didn’t know about the law. Town Clerk Claudia Coffin reported the LD 1 article hadn’t been on the warrant for years. “My guess is that the selectmen stopped putting the tax levy limit on the warrant because they knew the vote would never exceed it. They were always careful to have capped money articles instead of opened-ended articles. They knew ahead of time pretty much what the maximum amount voted would
BILL PEARSON
File photo
The new year signals a start to a new legislative session, and Edgecomb’s select board updated its state representative, Rep. Holly Stover, about local important issues. On the Jan. 25 Zoom conference, Selectman Dawn Murray discussed the impact of unfunded mandates on the school committee. Chairman Mike Smith had concerns about road conditions, especially state Route 27 and U.S. Route 1. Selectman Ted Hugger had two questions impacting local businessmen like him. Hugger owns Cod Cove Inn in Edgecomb and Cedar Crest Inn in Camden. Prior to attending the board meeting, Hugger saw a televsion news report about the state considering taxing the Paycheck Protection Program and other federal stimulus funds.