RANGELEY — The Board of Selectmen continued its intensive review Monday of the town’s personnel policy and rescinded language on personal and sick time, replacing it with more general paid small necessities leave.
The current personal leave policy, approved in January 2021, allows employees to use up to 40 hours of vacation time as personal time, in increments as small as 15 minutes.
Shifting from personal and sick time to paid small necessities leave, or PSNL, which allows employees to take leave for personal reasons, is intended to simplify how the town manages employee leave by setting a maximum amount and giving employees more flexibility in using it.
The new language, effective July 1, 2026, states that all town employees are eligible except new hires with fewer than 120 days of employment. PSNL may be used for any reason, including sick time.
Town Manager Joe Roach said the policy, which many other towns have adopted, is tailored to Rangeley and represents a “policy‑level decision only you folks can make so I can implement it.”
The board also held first readings Monday on the Housing Study Ad Hoc Committee bylaws and the Future Facilities Committee bylaws, and conducted a public hearing on the town warrant that will go before voters at the annual town meeting, scheduled for June 9.
Mark Beauregard, chairman of the Comprehensive Plan Implementation Committee, or CPIC, recommended that the housing study bylaws be reviewed by the committee before being presented to the town manager and selectmen.
Selectman Samantha White raised several questions about the intended process and framework for the ad hoc committee’s mission to gather broader community input and identify long‑term public priorities.
She asked how the committee would define needed housing types, such as senior, affordable and workforce units; evaluate related issues including short‑term rentals, seasonal housing and infrastructure impacts on existing neighborhoods; balance workforce housing needs with taxpayer concerns, neighborhood impacts and long‑term community character; and ensure opportunities for public engagement and feedback before making recommendations to the Board of Selectmen.
White also suggested tightening some of the language in the current draft of the bylaws.
The CPIC members recommended appointing Chris Farmer, who serves on the Comprehensive Plan Implementation Committee, to the ad hoc Housing Committee.
Selectmen formally created the Future Facilities Committee and adopted its bylaws, although Ordinance Committee Chairwoman Ethna Thompson pointed out several gaps.
She questioned what criteria the committee would use to distinguish between immediate operational needs, long‑term capital priorities and individual department requests; how it would balance departmental input with broader townwide priorities and taxpayer considerations, given the significant long‑term financial implications of municipal facilities planning; how community engagement would be incorporated before recommendations advance; and at what stage neighboring communities would be involved in discussions about services that rely on regional partnerships.
The facilities committee will include five residents appointed by the Board of Selectmen and two department heads assigned by the town manager and affirmed by selectmen.
Beauregard recommended that the two department heads be Rangeley residents in order to qualify for appointment.
During the public hearing on the town warrant, Roach reviewed the proposed municipal budget, noting that the recommendations represent a 3.5 percent increase in spending in the coming fiscal year.
The spending plan includes: $794,906 for roads, down $66,410; $714,001 for the Police Department, up $22,124; $550,425 for solid waste disposal, up $21,247; $474,457 for fire and rescue services, up $23,337; $326,762 for administration, an increase of $12,583; $261,316 for the Parks and Recreation Department, down $46,599; and $154,484 for emergency medical services, up $3,187.
The warrant also includes a recommendation from selectmen to fund $150,487 to hire a public services director, while the Budget Committee recommends no funding for the position.
The annual town meeting, held by referendum, is scheduled for 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday, June 9, at the Town Office.
In other matters, selectmen approved an application from the Rangeley Lakes Chamber of Commerce to hold a Doll Carriage Parade on July 3, a July 25 Concert in the Park and the Oquossoc Day Festival on Aug. 15.
The town’s quarterly meeting with the plantations is scheduled for 6 p.m. Wednesday, May 27, in Dallas Plantation.
