Traci Klinker of Showhegan pushes as her children Natalie Klinker, 1, front and her brother Jackson Klinker, 2, ride in a wagon Sept. 2, 2024, during the 51st Annual Oosoola Days Celebration at Oosoola Park in Norridgewock. Joining the trio is the children’s grandmother, Julie Farnsworth of New Sharon. Voters will decide Monday on a proposed community event and engagement coordinator job to organize the town’s parks and recreation activities and annual events. Rich Abrahamson/Morning Sentinel file

NORRIDGEWOCK — Voters at Monday’s annual town meeting will choose whether to create a new community event and engagement coordinator position and fund the construction of a new gazebo at Oosoola Park.

Norridgewock voters will also review a proposed spending plan which totals about $3.42 million in the Select Board’s recommended budget.

And voters are set to elect municipal officials, though there are no contested races. Only four people are running for the five seats open on the Select Board.

Polls are scheduled to be open from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday, followed by the open meeting at 7:30 p.m. Voting and town meeting are scheduled to be held at the Mill Stream Elementary School at 26 Mercer Road. Absentee ballots are available through Thursday by contacting the town office.

Voting by ballot during the day is for municipal elections and the proposal to create the community event and engagement coordinator position. All other business is set to be done at the meeting.

NEW POSITION & GAZEBO

The Select Board and Budget Committee spending proposals differ in part because of a proposed community event and engagement coordinator job.

The new position would be a full-time role, tasked with organizing the town’s parks and recreation activities and annual events, according to a draft job description.

The proposal, to be voted on by ballot, asks voters to approve $48,000 to fund the position for 75% of this year. A full year for the position is budgeted at $63,000.

The Select Board unanimously recommended it be approved. The Budget Committee recommended 3-1 it be rejected.

The other difference between the two is a proposal to build a new gazebo and do other related work at Oosoola Park. The warrant article asks voters to raise and appropriate $75,000, with any unspent surplus to be transferred to a reserve account.

The Select Board unanimously recommended it be approved. The Budget Committee recommended 3-1 it be rejected.

To account for its rejection of the two proposals, the Budget Committee’s projected revenue is $123,000 less than projection in the Select Board’s recommended budget, according to budget documents and Town Manager Richard LaBelle.

MUNICIPAL BUDGET

Aside from those two differences, the two proposals differ only by $5,000 in budgeting for capital reserve appropriations for cemeteries.

The Select Board’s proposed spending of $3,419,033, which includes the new position and the gazebo, is up about 9.5% over last year’s voter-approved spending of $3.12 million.

“People is the big cost driver for us, and that’s wages and benefits,” LaBelle said.

Accounting for projected revenue other than property taxes, and if all proposed spending is approved, the amount that would be left to be funded by property taxes would be about $812,833 in the Select Board’s proposal and $807,833 in the Budget Committee’s proposal.

That represents an increase of about 2 or 3% over last year, according to budget figures, even with the proposed new position and gazebo project.

“To have that incorporated into a budget, and only show a $23,000 increase, is pretty tremendous work by the Select Board and the Budget Committee to pull that together,” LaBelle said.

The departments with the largest proposed spending include public works at $770,750, administration at $474,200 and fire at $344,120. Proposed capital reserve appropriations in the Select Board’s recommended budget total $1.13 million, with $750,000 for roads and $110,000 for fire department equipment accounting for a large portion.

The Somerset County and Maine School Administrative District 54 budgets have not been set yet, so it is too soon to know the full impact to the property tax rate.

ELECTIONS & ORDINANCE

An updated Shoreland Zoning Ordinance is also on the town meeting warrant.

LaBelle said the Planning Board is proposing the changes to better align with state Department of Environmental Protection standards.

“It’s just an overdue process of aligning local regulations with state, and reviewing things that do have some local option, making sure that what we’ve selected locally is what is still in the best interest of the community,” he said.

And when Norridgewock voters head to the polls Monday, they will have few options to fill seats on the Select Board, school board and several other municipal offices.

All races are uncontested, and some have no candidates at all. Those with no declared candidates, or with fewer candidates than the number of seats open, will be filled by write-ins.