JAY — Residents voted Tuesday to approve a nearly $5.9 million municipal budget for 2023-24 and elected Elaine Fitzgerald and Bob Staples to the Regional School Unit 73 board of directors.

Incumbent Fitzgerald received 197 votes, incumbent Staples received 173 and Shari Ouellette received 145, Town Clerk Ronda Palmer said.

Tina Riley received 263 votes to continue as an RSU 73 board member for two years.

Selectpersons Tim DeMillo and Gary McGrane were reelected with 270 and 244 votes, respectively.

All budget articles passed, Palmer said.

The budget reflects an increase of $363,938 over this fiscal year budget without factoring in an estimated $2.7 million in revenues. Factoring in revenues, the budget would be about $3.16 million.

A new budget goes into effect July 1.

The board voted in January to take $13,000 for summer recreation and $18,802 for donations out of the Tower/Recreation Reserve Account instead of paying for it through taxation. The reserve is used to pay for recreation activities. The reserve would still have a balance of $140,979. However, money is added into the account each year. There is a plan to harvest timber on the town recreation land behind the high school and the money put into the reserve fund.

Most of the increase in the budget is attributed to utility cost increases, including electricity and water, as well as payroll and benefits.

One of the overall increases throughout the budget is electricity, which is up by about $30,000, LaFreniere has said.

The town is under a contract with Maine Power Options that will expire in November. LaFreniere has factored in additional money to hopefully cover any increases when town leaders negotiate another power contract.

Residents in the Jay Village Water District reelected Randall Doiron as trustee with 77 votes. Jeffrey Purington received four write-in votes to become a trustee of the North Jay Water District, Palmer said.

 

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