Click here to download absentee ballot application

05/13/08

Town Council to vote on 2009 general fund budgets May 27

The Town Council will vote on the general fund components of the Fiscal Year 2009 proposed budget on Tuesday evening, May 27, 2008, 7:30 p.m. in the Town Hall chamber.

The general fund components of the budget include the Town budget, the School Department budget, Community Services, the county assessment, and the amount that needs to be raised locally to match the state homestead exemption.

A public hearing on the budget was held May 12. E-mails, letters and other communication from citizens on the budget proposals are welcome at any time.

On June 10, 2008, a citizen vote will be held at Cape Elizabeth High School to validate the school budget that is approved by the council on May 27. That is also the date of the state primary and referendum election.

The state's new school consolidation law requires a validation vote on school budgets 10 days after their adoption by the local governing body. Councilors have been advised that the 10 days do not include weekends and holidays, so the timing of the adoption and vote should comply with the law.

Absentee ballots for the budget validation will be available on Wednesday, May 28, 2008.

Voters may apply at anytime to have an absentee ballot sent to them.

Citizens who have already voted absentee, or applied for an absentee ballot for the June primary, will automatically have ballots for the budget validation sent to them.

Applications for absentee ballots may be downloaded from this Web site, or may be obtained from Town Clerk Ruth Noble, 767-7473.

Anyone coming into the Town Hall on or after May 28, 2008 may vote absentee on the budget validation during normal business hours. You may vote at the Town Hall now on the issues and candidates on the state June ballots.

According to Maine law, voters may not vote on the budget validation until after the Town Council vote on the evening of May 27.

In addition to the validation vote, voters will be asked in a non-binding "advisory" vote to state whether they believe the school budget approved by the council May 27 is too high or too low. At their meeting May 12, councilors voted to include the advisory question to help guide the Town Council and the School Board should the validation vote fail.

If the school budget fails to be validated in the June 10 balloting, subsequent elections will need to be held until a budget passes.