West Gardiner voters will have the chance to elect a new member to the Board of Selectmen and to consider a proposed town budget that is less than last year’s at Saturday’s Town Meeting.

“Our budget is pretty much consistent from year to year,” said Gregory Couture, chairman of the selectmen. “The town’s requests are approximately the same as last year.”

Polls will be open from 8 a.m. to noon at the Town Office, at 318 Spears Corner Road on Saturday. In addition to choosing a selectman, voters also will choose candidates for town tax collector/treasurer and the School Administrative District board of directors. Voting on the town warrant begins at 1:30 p.m. at the fire hall next door the same day.

The total budget request is for $1,075,421, down almost $13,000 from last year’s $1,088,368.

Thanks to a relatively mild winter and lower fuel prices, the selectmen are projecting they’ll need $25,000 less to pay for fuel and winter road maintenance. They also are seeking $15,000 for highway equipment, which is half of what they asked for last year.

And the bill for Gardiner Ambulance service is coming in at $12,000, less than half of the $28,000 bill for last year.

Those decreases will offset increases the selectmen are seeking in salaries, administrative costs, town insurance and items such as summer road maintenance.

Selectmen also are seeking funding for several special projects, including $10,000 to finish work on the town landing and $15,000 for heating and cooling system and furniture upgrades for the Town Office.

“Those are one and done, that kind of thing,” Couture said. “It’s necessary repairs.”

The tax rate in West Gardiner is $11.40 per $1,000 of valuation. Couture said the tax rate will be recalculated in June after the budget for School Administrative District 11 is approved.

Two candidates are vying for the open seat on the Board of Selectmen. Earle McCormick, who is a selectman as well as the state senator representing West Gardiner and 10 other municipalities, has opted not to seek re-election to either seat.

Randall Macomber, 57, who has been involved in the family business Macomber Trucking for 35 years, said he has some time to invest now that his children are grown.

“I’ve been here all my life,” Macomber said. “I kind of like the town the way it is, and I would like to keep it that way.”

One of the issues he sees facing West Gardiner is preserving West Gardiner’s small-town atmosphere, he said, and keeping growth from getting out of hand.

“I want to keep management as simple as possible,” he said.

The management experience he’s earned working at Macomber Trucking is one of the skills he would bring to the position, he said.

Christopher McLaughlin, 32, also is seeking the seat. He stepped down as West Gardiner’s fire chief on Feb. 1 to spend more time with his young family and also because he’s been interested in running for selectman, and he concluded that working in both jobs would be a conflict of interest.

McLaughlin is a full-time firefighter in Augusta, and he has a bachelor’s degree in public management from the University of Maine at Orono.

“I don’t want to see a lot of changes,” he said. “I like the way West Gardiner does stuff.”

West Gardiner has fairly experienced and older selectmen, he said, but there will come a time when those officials will be replaced by younger candidates, and he wants to make sure a new generation of selectmen understands how West Gardiner works.

Sue Pierce, West Gardiner’s treasurer and tax collector, is running unopposed for re-election; as is Carrie Boardway, who is on the School Administrative District 11 board.

Jessica Lowell — 621-5632

jlowell@centralmaine.com

Twitter: @JLowellKJ

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