Town of Lamoine, Maine
	The Official Website of Lamoine's Town Government
	Home	Town Hall	School	Fire Department	Boards	Calendars	Newly Added
	Lamoine Budget Committee Minutes - December 13, 2021

Chair Merle Bragdon called the meeting to order at 6:30 PM.

Present were: Budget Committee Members Merle Bragdon, Mark Harris, Robin Veysey, Greg Hilt, Tiffany McMullen; Secretary Stu Marckoon, Budget Committee appointee January 1, 2022 Jeff Cosulich and Ellsworth Library Director Amy Wisehart

Prior to the start of the meeting, Merle noted that this will be Robin Veysey’s final meeting as a Budget Committee member as she is retiring after 20-years of service to the committee.  He presented her with a certificate noting her outstanding service.

Minutes – November 29, 2021 – Mark said the word “reserve” should be added to the third paragraph of the minutes to clarify.  He moved to approve the minutes with that change.  Robin 2^nd.  Vote in favor was 3-0.

Budget Reviews – Social & Cultural Services – Merle said he was surprised to see that the Grand Auditorium had not submitted an application on time.  Stu said no application has been received. 

Library – Ellsworth Public Librarian Amy Wisehart thanked the town for its continued support.  She said there is strong usage by Lamoine residents.  She said the $8,010 request is the same as last year, which is $5.00 per capita based on the latest census.  Ms. Wisehart noted that the Ellsworth Library shares a catalog with 60 other libraries across Maine, and she outlined the available services.  Merle said he uses the cloud library and it’s a great service to have.  He asked how many library cards are issued to Lamoine residents.  Ms. Wisehart said there were present 217.  She said Lamoine residents checked out 6,000 books in the past year.

Stu asked if there was any update from the City of Ellsworth on use by non Ellsworth residents.  Ms. Wisehart said if an outside municipality does not financially support the library, card holders from those communities will be charged a fee.

Social & Cultural Services – Merle noted that if an organization was funded in previous years there is no requirement to attend the meeting, but the application for funding must be receive don time.  He said the organization can attend the town meeting and a voter could aske to amend the article.  He listed the agencies that had requested funding, noting that the total requests was $1,700 lower than the current year.

Parks, Recreation & Cemeteries – It was noted that the Recreation Committee had not submitted any budget information (Note: an e-mail from Rec Committee chair Nicole Chan arrived at the town hall just prior to the meeting requesting the same as the previous year).   There was a brief discussion about cemetery care and the utility pole flags.

Capital Projects  - It was noted that the Emergency Fire Repair Fund proposed amount is $25,000 and that used of undesignated fund balance was increased by that amount.

Recommendations – The following budget recommendations were approved unanimously:

Next Meeting – The Committee will meet next when the school budget is ready.

There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 6:57 PM.

Respectfully submitted,

Stu Marckoon, Secretary