BURNHAM —  The Town of Burnham will hold its annual town meeting Saturday, March 21 at 1 p.m. at the Reynolds Corner Municipal Building. 

Voting for articles one and two will take place Friday, March 20 from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. 

Fifty-seven articles are listed on the town meeting warrant. 

Art. 1. To elect a Moderator to preside at said meeting.

Art. 2. To elect by secret ballot the following officers: one Selectmen, Assessor and Overseer of the Poor for a three year term; one Selectman, Assessor and Overseer of the Poor for a three year term; Town Treasurer for a one year term; Highway Commissioner for a one year term; and one MSAD #53 School Board Member for a three year term.

Art. 3. To see if the Inhabitants of the Town will vote to allow municipal spending to exceed the LD1 Tax Cap that was put into effect in 2005. (ballot vote required).

Art. 4. To see if the Inhabitants of the Town will vote to charge interest at the rate of 9% per annum on all 2020 taxes which remain unpaid on November 1, 2020. Recommended: YES

Art. 5. To see if the Inhabitants of the Town will vote to allow a discount on all 2020 taxes paid in full within 30 days from the date of mailing tax bills and to set a discount rate. Recommended: YES – 5%

Art. 6. To see what sum of money the Inhabitants of the Town will vote to raise and appropriate for Discounts on taxes for the ensuing year. (See attached PDF for amounts.) 

Art. 7. To see if the Inhabitants of the Town will vote to charge interest at the rate of 9% on all 2020 tax liens.
Recommended: YES

Art. 8. To see if the Inhabitants of the Town will authorize the Selectmen, with a committee of four local residents, to sell or otherwise dispose of any real estate acquired by the Town for nonpayment of taxes thereon, and to authorize the Town Treasurer to execute the Quit-Claim Deed for said real estate to be sold as follows:

A. The last owner(s) of record prior to foreclosure, shall have 30 days from the date of the foreclosure instrument to purchase the real estate from the town for the sum of all unpaid taxes, plus interest and costs.

B. In the event the last previous owner(s) and/or successor(s) shall not exercise their option to repurchase the property under the terms described above, any bid submitted by them which is less than the sum of unpaid taxes, plus interest and costs, shall be automatically rejected.

C. A notice of intent to sell such property shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation at least three weeks prior to such sale, inviting interested parties to submit sealed bids thereon. Minimum bid shall never be less than the sum of all unpaid taxes, plus interest and costs. Any or all bids may be rejected.

D. Selectmen to negotiate sale of tax acquired property following an unsuccessful bid process outlined above with the terms and conditions that they deem appropriate.

E. Not withstanding A. through D. above, the Selectmen shall use the sale process required by 36 M.R.S. section 943-C, if they sell property tax-acquired from qualifying senior, low-income taxpayers to anyone other than the former owner(s). Recommended: YES

Art. 9. To see what action the Inhabitants of the Town will take in regard to electing four local residents to serve as an advisory committee, with the Selectmen, in disposing of Tax Acquired Property. Elected in 2019: Ricky Basford, Nancy Edge, Wayne Mitchell and Ann Wishart. Recommended: Elect four (4) committee members at Town Meeting.

Art. 10. To see if the Inhabitants of the Town will vote to authorize the Selectmen to transfer from the unexpended balance of the current year any amount necessary to cover overdrafts which occur during the fiscal year 2020. All overdrafts to be shown in the Town Report. Recommended: YES

Art. 11. To see if the Inhabitants of the Town will authorize the Tax Collector to accept property tax payments before commitment. Recommended: YES

Art. 12. To see if the Inhabitants of the Town will vote to authorize the Fire Dept. to sell excess fire equipment no longer in use; all proceeds to go back into the Fire Protection account. Note: List of all equipment for sale is to be posted in three public locations in town, thirty (30) days prior to sale. Recommended: YES

Art. 13. To see if the Inhabitants of the Town will vote to authorize the use of a portion of the 2019 excise tax receipts to reduce the 2020 property tax commitment. Recommended: $150,000.00

Art. 14. To see if the Inhabitants of the Town will vote to carry forward to the next year all
unexpended funds from the Fire Protection and Firemens Payroll accounts. Recommended: YES

Art. 15. To see what sum of money the Inhabitants of the Town will vote to raise and appropriate for Fire Protection for the ensuing year. (See attached PDF for amounts.) 

Art. 16. To see what sum of money the Inhabitants of the Town will vote to raise and appropriate for pay to cover the Firemens Payroll while fighting fires and attending training sessions. (See attached PDF for amounts.) 

Art. 17. To see what sum of money the Inhabitants of the Town will vote to raise and appropriate to go into the Fire Department Equipment account. (See attached PDF for amounts.) 

Art. 18. To see what sum of money the Inhabitants of the Town will vote to raise and appropriate,
to be used as follows: $500.00 for Emergency Management Capital Reserve Account; $500.00 for
the Director’s Expense Account and $500.00 for Director’s Yearly Pay. (See attached PDF for amounts.) 

Art. 19. To see what sum of money the Inhabitants of the Town will vote to raise and appropriate for Street Lighting/Electrical Services necessary for the Town for the ensuing year. (See attached PDF for amounts.) 

Art. 20. To see what sum of money the Inhabitants of the Town will vote to raise and appropriate for Insurance for the ensuing year. (See attached PDF for amounts.) 

Art. 21. To see if the Inhabitants of the Town will vote to raise and appropriate for Town Highways listed below. (See attached PDF for amounts.) 

Art. 22. To see if the Inhabitants of the Town will vote to raise $117,023.76 for payment of the Road Resurfacing Note. (See attached PDF for amounts.) 

Art. 23. To see what sum of money the Inhabitants of the Town will vote to raise and appropriate for Tree Removal on town roadways. (See attached PDF for amounts.) 

Art. 24. To see what sum of money the Inhabitants of the Town will vote to raise and appropriate for the Transfer Station for the ensuing year. (See attached PDF for amounts.) 

Art. 25. To see what sum of money the Inhabitants of the Town will vote to raise and appropriate for Recycling. (See attached PDF for amounts.) 

Art. 26. To see if the Inhabitants of the Town will vote to authorize the Board of Selectmen to accept a 3 year contract with a 2 year option for the plowing and sanding of the Town Roads. Recommended: YES and place out to bid

Art. 27. To see what sum of money the Inhabitants of the Town will vote to raise and appropriate for Snow Removal, Sanding and Salting the Town roads for the ensuing year. (See attached PDF for amounts.) 

Art. 28. To see what sum of money the Inhabitants of the Town will vote to raise and appropriate For the Sand & Salt Shed Capital Reserve Account. (See attached PDF for amounts.) 

Art. 29. To see what sum of money the Inhabitants of the Town will vote to raise and appropriate for the maintenance of Sayward and Collamore Lanes. (See attached PDF for amounts.) 

Art. 30. To see what sum of money the Inhabitants of the Town will vote to raise and appropriate for summer maintenance of the Charles Taylor Lane. (See attached PDF for amounts.) 

Art. 31. To see what sum of money the Inhabitants of the Town will vote to raise and appropriate for Towns’ Share of Payroll Taxes/Health Insurance. (See attached PDF for amounts.) 

Art. 32. To see what sum of money the Inhabitants of the Town will vote to raise and appropriate for Town Officers’ Salaries. (See attached PDF for amounts.) 

Art. 33. To see what sum of money the Inhabitants of the Town will vote to raise and appropriate for Town Office/Treasurer Supplies. (See attached PDF for amounts.) 

Art. 34. To see what sum of money the Inhabitants of the Town will vote to raise and appropriate for the Office Equipment account. (See attached PDF for amounts.) 

Art. 35. To see what sum of money the Inhabitants of the Town will vote to raise and appropriate for Incidental Expenses for the ensuing year. This includes the audit, cost of town reports, assessing, mapping, legal fees and other miscellaneous expenses to the Town. (See attached PDF for amounts.) 

Art. 36. To see what sum of money the Inhabitants of the Town will vote to raise and appropriate to maintain and operate the Municipal Building for the ensuing year. (See attached PDF for amounts.) 

Art. 37. To see what sum of money the Inhabitants of the Town will vote to raise and appropriate to improve the Exterior of the Municipal Building. (See attached PDF for amounts.) 

Art. 38. To see what sum of money the Inhabitants of the Town will vote to raise and appropriate to improve the Interior of the Municipal Building. (See attached PDF for amounts.) 

Art. 39. To see what sum of money the Inhabitants of the Town will vote to raise and appropriate for the care of the Town Cemeteries and Veterans Graves, wherever located, in the Town of Burnham for the coming year. (See attached PDF for amounts.) 

Art. 40. To see what sum of money the Inhabitants of the Town will vote to raise and appropriate for General Assistance for the ensuing year. (See attached PDF for amounts.) 

Art. 41. To see what sum of money the Inhabitants of the Town will vote to raise and appropriate for other Recreational Activities for the ensuing year. (See attached PDF for amounts.) 

Art. 42. To see what sum of money the Inhabitants of the Town will vote to raise and appropriate for the continued service of Kennebec Valley Council of Governments. (See attached PDF for amounts.) 

Art. 43. To see what sum of money the Inhabitants of the Town will vote to raise and appropriate for the requests for the following agencies asking for Donations. (See attached PDF for amounts.) 

Art. 44. To see what sum of money the Inhabitants of the Town will vote to raise and appropriate, for reimbursement, to families and/or individual residents of Burnham, fee memberships paid to the Pittsfield Public Library (NOTE: Proof of residency and proof of membership paid must be submitted to the Town Office. Upon approval of the Board of Selectmen, reimbursement will be made by town check on the next scheduled pay warrant.) (See attached PDF for amounts.) 

Art. 45. To see if the Inhabitants of the Town will vote to give Snowmobile Registration funds to the Driftbusters Snowmobile Club of Pittsfield, for the purpose of creating and maintaining snowmobile trails in Burnham.
Recommended: YES

Art. 46. To see what sum of money the Inhabitants of the Town will vote to raise and appropriate for Animal Control. (See attached PDF for amounts.) 

Art. 47. To see if the Inhabitants of the Town will vote to raise and appropriate the sum of five thousand five hundred dollars ($5,500.00) for professional consultant services in connection with the Assessment Quarter Review. (See attached PDF for amounts.) 

Art. 48. To see what sum of money the Inhabitants of the Town will vote to raise and appropriate for the Veterans Memorial Park. (See attached PDF for amounts.) 

Art. 49. To see if the Inhabitants of the Town will vote to authorize the Selectmen to spend an amount, whatever necessary, for the period January 1, 2021 to March 21, 2021. Recommended: YES

Art. 50. To see if the Inhabitants of the Town will vote to raise and appropriate $10,000.00 to fund the Capital Reserve Account for the purpose of future repair or replacement of Mill Bridge #3074. Recommended: YES

Art. 51. To see what sum of money the Inhabitants of the Town will raise and appropriate to obtain an engineered plan for the repair of the Mill Bridge. Recommended: No

Art. 52. To see what sum of money the Inhabitants of the Town will raise and appropriate to obtain an engineered plan for the replacement of the Mill Bridge. Recommended: $16,000.00

Art. 53. To see what sum of money the Inhabitants of the town will vote to raise and appropriate for Bicentennial Events in the Town in 2024. (See attached PDF for amounts.) 

Art. 54. To see what sum of money the Inhabitants of the Town will vote to raise and appropriate for engineer plans and work on the erosion problem at the Town Boat Landing next to the public Beach. (See attached PDF for amounts.) 

Art. 55. To see if the Inhabitants of the Town will vote to give up to $1,600.00 from excise tax collected on Boat registrations to the Friends of Lake Winnecook for the purpose of supporting the Courtesy Boat Inspection & Lake Monitoring effects on Lake Winnecook. Recommended: YES

Art. 56. To see what action the Inhabitants of the Town of Burnham will take in regards to changing the Town Office Hours. Recommended: No Action

LATE ARTICLE: To see what sum of money the Inhabitants of the Town will vote to raise and appropriate, for reimbursement to Burnham resident parents of children that wish to participate in the Pittsfield Recreation Department Athletic activities. The reimbursement will be for a maximum of $50.00 per child. (NOTE: Proof of residency and proof of membership paid must be submitted to the Town Office. Upon approval of the Board of Selectmen, reimbursement will be made by town check on the next scheduled pay warrant.) Recommended: $1,000.00