Deferred expenses will hurt Mechanic Falls budget

MECHANIC FALLS — A backlog of delayed needs threatens to result in a large tax increase for Mechanic Falls residents, Town Manager John Hawley told the Board of Selectmen last week.

Hawley and Town Clerk Lisa Palmer have been working on the town budget for the last month, and they reported that it is going to be a hard budget year.

Hawley said that, typically, large foreseeable expenses would be saved for over a period of years in order to reduce the sting to taxpayers. Over the past several years, the recession has caused the town to defer many of those expenses.

Now, said Hawley, many of those monies are going to be needed and will all have to be collected at once.

Examples of needs include deteriorating sidewalks, handicap accessibility for all town-owned and public-used buildings, the replacement of a police cruiser and a police truck, fuel pump tank replacement, and a new state-required life pack defibrillator in the rescue vehicle.

There are even larger expenses on the horizon, said Hawley.

The town's pumper truck will need to be replaced at some point over the next few years, said Hawley, at an expense of approximately $375,000. In addition, the town's salt shed will need to be replaced within the same time period.

Hawley said that adding these types of expenses into the budget will give the appearance of a huge increase in taxes, but, he asserted, the increase is due to the fact that regular expenses have been deleted from the budget for the last few years.

One expense that has been averted has been a labor repair bill for the town's Rescue 1 vehicle, which dates back to 1997. Shawn Dostie saved the town approximately $1,500 by performing repairs on the vehicle, charging only for parts needed. Dostie received a grateful message of thanks from the board.

Riverside Drive

Four residents of Riverside Drive approached the board to discuss the possibility of the town taking over the maintenance of the road.

Led by Rhonda Reid, the homeowners who live on the private section of the road have all signed a petition to have the town take ownership of the road.

The council voted to plow the road for the residents to ensure that public safety vehicles can get up the road should the need arise, but stopped short of assuming ownership of the road.

In order to implement the change, all of the residents will need to sign notarized paperwork that absolves the town of liability.

The residents will have to sign a new agreement each year until they are able to form a subdivision association and bring the road up to state specs . The subdivision was built in the early 80’s before any requirements or laws were in place about maintenance of subdivision roads.

Adult Ed move

A lease for the Head Start building has been granted to the Adult Education program.

The new lease is for 20 years and is leased at the rate of $1 per month, which covers the lease of the building and the parking space around it. All other costs are will be at the expense of RSU16. The town will also plow and sand the parking lot at no charge. The Adult Ed will be moving into the building after the end of this school year.

The library plans to then move into the 3rd floor of the town office building, following a unanimous vote of the library trustees.