Wayne voters recently passed a $1.18 million spending plan at Town Meeting, a day after they elected three new people to the town’s Select Board.

Besides passing that budget, which is up 7 percent from this year’s, they also authorized the town to apply for federal funding to help with two local projects, according to Town Manager Aaron Chrostowsky.

One of those projects is the redevelopment of the town’s Masonic Hall into a community center, which is being led by the local organization Sustain Wayne. Through the town, Sustain Wayne is applying for $50,000 in funding through the federal Community Development Block Grant Program.

The other project is the redevelopment of the Ladd Recreation Center, where the Town Meeting was held. The town is seeking federal assistance through the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act to help fix the tennis and basketball courts there.

Besides approving those measures at Town Meeting, voters also passed updates to the town’s zoning ordinance and maps, and to its yard sale ordinance.

At Town Meeting, which was held June 13 at the Ladd Recreation Center, residents passed all the spending proposals presented by the Select Board.

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Given the approved changes to the town, school and county budgets, local voters will see their property tax rate rise from $16.19 per $1,000 of valuation to an estimated $16.97 per $1,000, according to Chrostowsky. That means the owner of a $100,000 property would have to pay $1,697 in taxes next year, or $78 more than this year.

On Tuesday, Wayne residents also overwhelmingly supported the proposed $17.9 million budget for the Maranacook Area Schools, also known as Regional School Unit 38, which includes Manchester, Mount Vernon and Readfield. Wayne taxpayers will be responsible for paying $2.2 million of that amount.

Wayne residents also elected three new members to the Select Board last week.

Amy Black and Stanley Davis both were elected to three-year terms. They were competing against two other candidates, Elaine Christopher and incumbent Select Board Vice Chairwoman Stephanie Haines.

Lloyd Irland won the seat now held by outgoing Chairman Gary Kenney, whose term has two years remaining. The other candidate for that seat was Cynthia Pettengill.


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