Despite a proposal to cut the proposed budget made on the Town Meeting floor on Saturday, residents ultimately passed the budget as presented, as well as the rest of the unamended warrant.

Moderator Sterling Abram noted the session was particularly speedy, concluding about 11:30 a.m., with all articles passed without any approved amendments.

Regarding the budget, resident Geoff Pinney, one of this year’s candidates for Select Board, proposed to reduce the proposal from $2,327,184 to $2,145,914. Abram said the amendment was defeated in a “very definitive” show of hands, as voters then passed the budget as originally proposed.

Again this year, the closest vote came down to a $5,000 warrant article to support the Dublin Community Center. Last year, the same article finished in a tie, which was broken by Moderator Tim Clark, who voted yes. This year, the community center article, asking for the same amount, was the only one to be done by secret ballot, according to Abram. While not as close as last year’s vote, it was still the most-contentious one, passing by less than 10 votes, in a 67-58 ballot count.

In less-controversial articles, residents also agreed to $3,600 for the operation and publication of the Dublin Advocate newsletter and a total of $8,781 for various community agencies which provide services to Dublin residents. Residents agreed to use $120,000 from the town’s Building Maintenance Capital Reserve to make improvements to the the town’s highway barn by adding an office and break room.

In other articles, residents approved a $45,000 police cruiser, and a $5,000 leaf vacuum for the cemeteries. Road improvements in town are expected to continue after the approval of $185,000 for chip sealing, which will come from the unassigned fund balance. As part of a larger article, totaling $335,000 for additions to the town’s capital reserve accounts, voters also approved $200,000 for road construction. In the other accounts, voters approved $30,000 for highway equipment, $15,000 for the police cruiser, $30,000 for fire equipment, $10,000 for library repair and maintenance and $50,000 for town building maintenance.

The town also approved $13,760 to three expendable trusts: $6,400 to for the town revaluation, $1,000 for the town’s master plan and $6,360 for town building repair. 

Voters also agreed to adjust the amounts needed to qualify for the town’s elderly tax exemption. To qualify, an elderly resident can only have a certain amount of assets, not including their home, and a certain level of income. Voters agreed to increase the cap on both income limits and asset limits, as well as raising the amount of taxes to be exempted.

Previously, a person 65 to 74 could exempt up to $10,000 of their property’s value from taxation, a person 75 to 79 could exempt $15,000 and a person 80 or older could exempt $20,000. The new exemptions are $40,000, $60,000 and $75,000, respectively.

The amount of assets a  person can hold were also increased from $35,000 to $50 ,000 for both single people and married couples, and the income limits lifted to $30,000 for a single person or $40,000 for a couple.

Ashley Saari can be reached at 603-924-7172 ext. 244 or asaari@ledgertranscript.com. She’s on Twitter @AshleySaariMLT.