Boothbay Harbor residents who head to this year’s edition of the annual town meeting May 7 will be faced with a nearly flat proposed budget for the upcoming 2016/2017 fiscal year. According to Boothbay Harbor Town Manager Thomas Woodin, residents will be asked to approve a town budget of $4,100,738 ,a slight decrease of $13,749 from last year.

“It's not a controversial warrant,” said Woodin, who is in his ninth year as town manager. 'It's fairly straightforward. People never have a problem when the budget is flat or down.”

For those who don't know, a town warrant is the guideline for the entire fiscal year of the town. It contains not only the entire town budget, which voters present at the meeting will agree or disagree with, but also changes in the code that can affect property holders, and guidelines the town selectmen will adhere to during the year.

If the 21-article town warrant is approved, the result should mean no tax hikes for residents again this year, marking the seventh year the Boothbay Harbor budget would be flat or down under Woodin's stewardship, in a run of financial stability as other towns grapple with a host of tax hikes. It falls under the heading of anticipatory accounting, he explained.

“We're pretty careful about when we put money aside. For example, if we had a police officer retire after 20 years, there would be a significant cost savings when you bring in a new officer at a lower pay grade,” he said. “It's planning for the future but not raising your budgets.”

The expense of running the town year to year doesn't change save for variables such as fuel prices and the occasional change in union contracts. This year’s mild winter will translate into a short-term savings on snow removal, sand, salt and manpower.

“Unless you start a huge project where you have to take out a loan, our budget stays flat,” said Woodin.

In recent years, the town has completed projects such as replacing a cold storage building at the public works facility and replaced the wooden pilings under Atlantic Edge Lobster on the Fish Pier. Both projects were paid for with available funds.

In addition to the budget, voters will be asked to approve a code change. Article 21 asks voters to amend the current Shellfish Conservation Ordinance to be identical and current with the state statutes.

“It's simply a matter of verbiage,” said Woodin. “No changes were made.”

Article 19 asks voters to raise and appropriate $323,740 to support a host of community organizations including $1,750 for the Boothbay Region Health & Wellness and $1,750 for the Boothbay Region Community Resource Center, the new senior community center in the Meadow Mall on Route 27.

The town warrant is a two-day process. On May 6, voters will head to the polls between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. to make their picks for two selectmen, one school committee member and one trustee for each of the following: Boothbay-Boothbay Harbor CSD, Boothbay Harbor Sewer District, Boothbay Region Water District and the Boothbay-Boothbay Harbor Cemetery District. Incumbent Selectman Russ Hoffman is once again running for his position and Mike Tomko is running unopposed for the selectman’s position Bill Hamblen is vacating.

The town meeting will take place on May 7 starting at 9 a.m. at Boothbay Region Elementary School.

The full Boothbay Harbor Town Warrant can be seen in the April 28 edition of the Boothbay Register.