WILTON — Voters zipped through a 65‑article town meeting warrant Monday night, approving all but one item and adopting a municipal spending plan with mostly small increases.
Eighty‑six people gathered in the Academy Hill School gymnasium as the meeting opened. Not all attendees were registered voters.
Of the 65 articles, 49 passed unanimously by voice vote, 15 passed with between one and four dissenting votes and one was withdrawn at the sponsor’s request.
Voters approved raising $5,231,247 through property taxes. The town appropriation for fiscal 2024‑25 was $4,905,147. Figures for fiscal 2025-26 remain incomplete because the fiscal year ends next week.
To limit the tax burden, the Board of Selectpersons asked voters to transfer $601,500 from previously raised funds. Voters agreed. The largest transfer was $400,000 from the undesignated fund balance for the townwide capital account.
Most articles drew no comment or debate, and the meeting’s moderator, Tom Saviello, called for adjournment after voters completed the warrant in 89 minutes.
One item was close enough on voice vote that Saviello called for a show of hands. The close vote came on an amendment to the article funding the Fire Department.
The Board of Selectpersons had recommended raising $239,168 for the Fire Department. But the Finance Committee recommended $328,672 so Wilton could staff the fire station with per diem firefighters for 40 hours a week.
Gwen Doak, a member of the Finance Committee, moved that the town approve the higher figure. But Board Chair David Leavitt told voters the board had not supported the larger amount because the town’s new Fire Department Committee is developing a plan for per diem staffing to bring to next year’s annual town meeting.
That plan will likely call for two firefighters to staff the station from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Concern about response times surfaced last year when firefighters from Jay and Farmington reached a fire in East Wilton before the Wilton Fire Department.
Supporters of the higher amount said that with two firefighters on duty, Wilton would have been the first crew to arrive.
Most fire departments in western Maine operate under mutual aid agreements with neighboring towns, and the senior officer from the town where the fire occurs typically oversees the response.
In a show of hands, the motion to raise $328,672 was defeated 48-11. Voters then unanimously approved $239,168.
When the fiscal year begins July 1, Wilton will have a new trash hauler. Voters unanimously approved raising $392,617 for the transfer station and recycling, an increase of $37,685 over this fiscal year. Of that total, $163,000 is for tipping fees, the charges landfills assess to accept trash and recyclables, $70,000 is for hauling and $125,046 covers employee wages and benefits.
Gregory’s Disposal Inc. of Fairfield will replace Archie’s Inc. of Mexico, which did not bid on next year’s contract.
Residents had frequently complained about service lapses by Archie’s.
Voters also agreed to raise Highway Department funding to $1,209,502 from $1,158,701, and Police Department funding to $957,870 from $920,816, increases of about 4 percent each.
On five smaller spending articles, the Board of Selectpersons and the Finance Committee disagreed, and voters sided with the board. Those articles involved funding for social service agencies. The board recommended raising no money for Community Concepts, the Children’s Center, Kennebec Behavioral Health, Day One and Sweetser.
The Finance Committee had recommended amounts between $300 and $3,950 for those agencies.
Selectwoman Tiffany Maiuri said the Board of Selectpersons believes that if an agency serves an area wider than Wilton, its funding should come from a wider governmental body, such as the county commissioners.
“It’s much more equitable if it’s countywide,” she said.
Saviello, a Franklin County commissioner and former Wilton selectman, said the county does fund some of those agencies.
Nathan Hiltz, who was sworn in after the meeting as a new member of the Board of Selectpersons, proposed amendments to two articles.
The first amendment was to a recommended change to the planning ordinance that would have allowed it to be amended either at annual town meeting or at a special town meeting attended by at least 100 people.
Hiltz proposed striking the special town meeting option so that planning changes can be made only at annual town meeting. Voters agreed, with two votes against.
Hiltz’s other amendment was to require a breakdown in the annual town report of spending for the Board of Selectpersons. Voters agreed.
The Board of Selectpersons budget, including stipends, is $9,750, the same as for 2025-26. The vote on the amended article was unanimous.
At the request of the Planning Board, an article to amend the street ordinance was withdrawn. The board is redrawing a combined street and parking ordinance, which is expected to come before a future town meeting.
