The universe is a perverse place and the Monday, June 23 Boothbay Harbor Board of Selectmen's meeting was another fine example of that fact. The board refused to sign off on the warrants, basically the town's bills other than payroll, despite the fact that the finance officer and town manager assured them that there were adequate funds available. They also decided that an emergency town meeting is necessary as soon as possible.

The current budget crisis has been on the horizon since last summer. When Town Manager Tom Woodin assumed office in May 2007 and reviewed "the books," he discovered that previous town manager Carlo Pilgrim's budgets were unrealistic and had resulted in the depletion of the town's undesignated fund (from 2005-2007, $472,000 was removed from the undesignated fund to cover budget overages). Woodin outlined these budget deficiencies in a public meeting on August 9, 2007, and concluded that the budget approved at the 2007 town meeting was likely to be exceeded by over $200,000.

Through various budgetary corrections, including reducing debt service, Woodin and the selectmen came up with a revised budget. Both expenditures and revenues for this budget were greater than the budget approved at the 2007 town meeting (revenues are not actually approved), but the proposed budget was expected to be realistic and achievable. Finance Officer Julia Latter affirmed this conclusion in her report on Monday night; the town's budget is expected to close the fiscal year on June 30 with about $42,000 in the bank, which will be placed in the undesignated fund in addition to the $30,000 earmarked for that purpose.

So what is the problem? Some of the selectmen are concerned that the town's operating budget was never officially approved by the voters, and that they could be held liable for any amount spent over the amount approved at town meeting. This issue was first raised by Jerry Closson in an August 16, 2007 selectmen's meeting, where he asked the board to convene a special town meeting to reconsider the budget. No selectmen at that time, or until recently, expressed any interest in holding such a meeting.

After the last selectmen's meeting, at the board's request, Woodin queried town counsel Geoff Hole about the selectmen's liability in exceeding the approved budget. Hole concluded that Article 13 of the town warrant, which allows funding of any expenditure over budget from the undesignated fund balance, protects the selectmen from liability for budget overdrafts. Selectman Robert Splaine suggested that this conclusion was faulty since the town's undesignated fund is presently zero. Woodin contends that since there will be no overdraft, there will be no need to tap the undesignated fund, nor any need to appropriate additional tax dollars, and thus, no risk to the selectmen.

At Monday night's meeting, selectmen Bruce Engert, Denise Griffin, and Splaine concluded that a special town meeting to obtain voter approval was necessary before expending any amount over that approved at the 2007 town meeting.

"This town for too many years has ignored the amount of money that was voted on by taxpayers," concluded Griffin, "Let's clean it up and do it by the book and get the residents approval."

Selectmen Linc Sample and Louis Burnham disagreed.

"I'm comfortable paying the bills," said Sample, ". . . Personally, I think it's much ado about nothing. I have no trouble signing the warrants."

"I don't want to shut down town government," agreed Burnham. Sample moved to sign the warrants, Burnham seconded; the motion failed 3-2. Approximately $50,000 in bills was not approved for payment.

Woodin reported on Tuesday that the town has about $293,000 in the bank, and that there are adequate funds available to pay the $50,000 in bills due that were not approved by the selectmen on Monday night. He also indicated that, as directed by the board, he was working to develop a warrant article to go before the voters at a special town meeting to be held in the next week (the warrant must be posted for seven days prior to the meeting). This meeting is unlikely to be scheduled before the close of the fiscal year. An added difficulty for Woodin is that the meeting will fall within his two-week vacation and he may not to be able to attend.

For the first time in at least five years, Boothbay Harbor has a realistic budget and is operating in the black, so it seems particularly ironic that now bills will not be paid and voters will be asked to reconsider the budget. With the overwhelming support for town government evident at last town meeting, it seems likely that the voters will approve the current operating budget. What happens if they do not is not presently clear.

Both Sarah Sample and Jerry Closson asked to address the board during their deliberations, but were denied.

The proposed changes in the town's fee schedule were back on the agenda. Selectman Engert opened discussion by suggesting that the issue be tabled until next fiscal year "to give the board ample time to scrutinize the fees." Griffin disagreed and suggested that a shorter review time would be more appropriate. Burnham asked how long the selectmen had had the fee schedule. Woodin replied that the fees had been on the agenda for three meetings and that the selectmen had had them for review for six weeks.

Engert asked planning board member Mike Tomko to share his comments on the proposed fee revisions. Tomko said that his review raised a lot of questions and that his goal "was to get more discussion and comment." He said that he had looked at other town's fees and had found no consistency among towns. Tomko said that he would like to see an explanation and rationale for the proposed increases.

Once again, the board tabled the matter without a detailed discussion, but agreed to vote on the proposed fee schedules by its July 28 meeting. Woodin said that he would provide board members with a copy of Boothbay's fee schedule for comparison.

The board spent about 25 minutes approving town government officials, department by department. The following new appointments were made: Engert resigned from the port committee and the board appointed Richard Whittier to replace him. Mary Neal and Tom Carbone were appointed to the budget committee. Michelle Farnham resigned from the planning board; the board agreed to move Mike Tomko from first alternate to full member of the planning board. They also reassigned Scott Barlow from second alternate to first alternate on the planning board and appointed Ken Anderson as second alternate on the planning board. Cynthia Watson was appointed as first alternate on the board of appeals. Tom Carbone was approved as a fire police officer.

During appointment review, Engert questioned fire chief Glenn Townsend about his availability to respond to fires in light of his position as deputy harbormaster. Townsend replied, "Technically, it's not my job to fight the fire but to oversee the outcome." He explained that the station and two backup stations are always ready to respond automatically no matter where he is. "It's no different than if I were out of town in Portland for the weekend," concluded Townsend.

Engert noted that town administrative and public works employees had voted to join the Teamster's Union. He questioned Woodin and public works director Jody Lewis about public works employees meeting with the union representative in the town office during working hours. Woodin responded that the union representative was at the town office for police contract negotiations, and that public works employees spoke with him during their lunch break. Lewis said that employees met with the union representative for less than 15 minutes on their own time, and that all future meetings would be held off town property and outside of working hours.

Engert suggested, "Since we are now completely unionized, it might be a time to keep better track of employees' time … and install time clocks." There was no response from the selectmen to this suggestion, but Lewis responded, "My guys will make a lot more money when they start punching a clock."

Woodin reported that the town had paid off its $1,075,000 tax anticipation note, that Fred Brewer would begin this year's audit on July 23, and that he had received interest quotes for a $950,000 tax anticipation loan for the next fiscal year. The board approved acquisition of the loan from the First National Bank of Damariscotta, which offered the lowest interest rate. Griffin abstained from the vote.

During public forum, Closson asked about the status of the recall provision suggested by Norm Pierce. Splaine stated that he did not think that the subject was an appropriate matter for the board to consider. He suggested that the provision should be considered by voters as a warrant article, and that recall should extend to appointed as well as elected officials. Engert said that he wanted to consider the provision further, and that the selectmen were not at a point to make a decision.

In other business, the board decided to meet with Gary and Bernadette Wells and Jody Lewis at a later date to discuss possible rehabilitation of their property. John VanOrsdell withdrew his letter regarding the tunnel bypass for Route 1 due to exorbitant costs. Selectman Sample moved that the board pledge allegiance to the flag before every meeting; this motion was approved.

The next regular selectmen's meeting is scheduled for July 14.