The Camden Select Board tonight will be considering the fiscal year 2016 municipal budget as new business, as well as countersigning annual meeting warrants for the Five Town Community School District and Maine Administrative District 28 budget referendums.

The 2015 Camden Town Meeting has been scheduled for June 9-10, with secret ballot voting to be held all day Tuesday, June 9, and the town meeting during the evening of Wednesday, June 10.

Following discussion of the proposed budget, the Select Board will be voting to set a special meeting date on April 28 to approve the Town Meeting Warrant.

Overall, the town is looking at a potential $7,154,969 budget for fiscal year 2016, if the budget committee's recommendations remain in place. The draft fiscal year 2016 budget came in at $7,444,944, but the budget committee is recommending reducing the total by $289,975, with the largest reduction, by percent, being made in the debt/capital/contingency line, followed by the general government line.

Also if approved at the budget committee's recommendation of $1,681,048, the fiscal year 2016 budget would be $46,486 over the fiscal year 2015 budget of $1,634,562.

The budget committee is recommending reducing the draft budget figure for the debt/capital/contingency line by $289,975. The draft budget came in at $1,195,848 and the budget committee is recommending a budget of $1,051,173. Proposed reductions, by line, would be $5,000 less for debt service principal; $675 less for debt service interest; $30,000 less for capital reserves; and $109,000 less for the capital improvement program line. Unchanged is the contingency line, which remains unchanged at $40,000.

To arrive at $73,000 in recommended changes to the general government line, the budget committee is recommending reducing funded part-time hours by $14,000 for admin/finance/assessing; reducing legal and engineering from the professional services budget by $8,000; reducing funded part-time hours for planning and development by $15,000; and reducing computer replacement for the information technology budget by $3,000. The budget committee also recommends reducing the insurances budget by $25,000 by seeking alternative Workers Compensation plans, and reducing the heating budgets for the town office building and auditorium from the Opera House budget by $3,000 and $5,000 respectively.

The budget committee is also recommending cutting the public safety budget by a total of $55,800, with the bulk of that funding ($34,800) coming from the hydrant assessment budget by receiving a Maine Water rate reduction. The budget committee is also recommending reducing the police department by $5,000 through reduced overtime funding; and reducing the fire department budget by $7,000 through a reduction in funding for supplies and materials. Another $8,500 reduction would come from the public safety building budget by reducing custodial and fuel funding, and the last $500 would come from the emergency operations center budget through a reduction in funding for supplies and materials.

The budget committee is not recommending changes to the draft for the health & welfare budget ($27,150) or the cemeteries budget ($90,000) for fiscal year 2016, but it is recommending reducing the $5,000 Megunticook Dams line by $3,000 through a reduction in funding for supplies and materials.

The Camden Select Board meets Tuesday, April 21 at 6:30 p.m. in the Washington Street conference room. The movie is broadcast live on Time Warner channel 22 and streamed live on the Web at townhallstreams.com/locations/camden-me.

The full April 21 agenda follows:

A. Call to Order

B. Communications, Presentations, and Recognitions
1) Downtown Network Board Update – Co-Chairs Oscar Verest and Deb Dodge
2) Use of the Village Green for Business is Blooming – Camden Downtown Business group
3) Transfer of Economic Development District designation from Mid-Coast Economic Development District (MCEDD) to Mid-Coast Council of Governments (MCOG)
4) Request by the Mid Maine Sports Car Club to hold a Car Show on Chestnut Street on Sunday, June 7, 2015.

C. Citizen Comments (for items not on the agenda)
This time is set aside for members of the public to comment on any town-related issue that is not on the agenda. We ask that people keep comments within 3 minutes.

D. Approval of Select Board Minutes dated April 7, 2015

E. Select Board Reports

F. New Business
1) Consideration of the FY16 Municipal Budget.
2) Countersignature of the annual meeting warrants for the Five Town Community School District Budget Referendum and the Maine School Administrative District #28 Budget Referendum.
3) Designation of the Registrar of Voters' office hours for the upcoming June 9-10, 2015 Annual Town Meeting.
4) Consideration and award of bid for Parks & Recreation truck.
5) Appointment of Cody Laite as Assistant Inland Harbor Master.
6) Set Special meeting date on April 28 to approve the Annual Town Meeting Warrant.
7) Consideration of renewal victualer license for Express House of Pizza at 12 Mechanic Street.
8) Public Hearings regarding the following renewal liquor and special amusement permits:
a) Elm Street Grill for a Class I Restaurant Liquor License at 115 Elm Street
b) Elm Street Grill for a Special Amusement Permit at 115 Elm Street
c) Camden Harbour Inn for Class I Hotel Liquor License with Mini Bars at 83 Bay View Street
d) Camden Harbour Inn for Special Amusement Permit
e) Camden Whitehall Corporation, d/b/a Whitehall for a Class I Hotel Liquor License at 52 High Street
f) Stuart Smith, d/b/a Grand Harbor Inn for Class I Hotel Mini Bar at 14 Bay View Landing

G. Town Manager Report

H. Select Board Closing Comments

Adjourn

Reach Editorial Director Holly S. Edwards at hollyedwards@penbaypilot.com.