Refuse district directors are doing some budget recalculations after a member challenged their figures during the Feb. 11 Boothbay selectmen's meeting. Chuck Cunningham is the Boothbay selectboard chairman and now the former refuse district board of directors vice-chairman.

Cunningham challenged Operations Manager William Johnson's formula calculations used to assign each town's contribution to the district's annual budget. Johnson was presenting the refuse district's 2026 budget request, Wednesday, to selectmen.

Cunningham alleged the budget formula didn't use 2020 census numbers as required by law. Johnson is still in his first year as manager and admitted he used Google numbers. 

Cunningham also claimed Johnson used old figures for calculating construction debris and municipal solid waste figures. He reported other parts of the formula, municipal sales tax calculations and property valuation, numbers were correct.

"I wish you brought this to me before the meeting," Johnson told Cunningham, who responded he only recently saw them in his selectmen's packet. Cunningham added, the proposed formula calculations were never presented to the directors. 

The Boothbay Region Refuse Disposal District budget is a proposed $1,887,200, an 1.8% increase from fiscal year 2026. Cunningham presented the numbers he recalculated during the presentation.

The  refuse budget was approved in December, and directors didn't meet in January. Cunningham said in the past the directors always saw the formula figures prior to sending them to the towns.

"I've been on the board for six years. I don't remember ever seeing it," Refuse District Chairman Jody Lewis said. Cunningham, who has been a district board member for over a decade, said "Maybe if you would read your emails, you would have."

Lewis added, Cunningham should have brought this up prior to district officials meeting with Boothbay selectmen. Cunningham reminded him he had only seen the figures sent to him as a selectman, not a director. 

Based on Cunningham's calculations, all towns' contributions increased from the previous year except Boothbay Harbor's. Cunningham's calculations showed Boothbay at 37.3%; Johnson's, 37.1%; Boothbay Harbor, 36.47%; Johnson's, 37.05%; Edgecomb, 10.4%; Johnson's, 10.33%; and Southport, 16.19%; Johnson's, 16.38%.

Refuse District Treasurer Julia Latter asked selectmen to allow her a chance to review the figures before making a decision. Cunningham said he is worried how the error may impact Southport which has its town meeting Monday, March 2.

After the meeting, Cunningham was asked why he checked the formula calculation figures. "The first thing I saw when I got all the information was the population figures didn't look like Census figures. They weren't correct," he said. "If you don't have actual numbers, you can't factor them in." 

On Feb. 12, the BRRDD directors voted to remove Cunningham as vice-chairman. Cunningham was absent due to a work conflict. The directors ruled Cunningham's conduct caused "undue hardship on the board as a result of his withholding information which would have allowed for correct budgetary requests made to the participating municipalities," according to the motion made Feb. 12 to remove Cunningham during the refuse directors' meeting.

In other action, Boothbay Region TV is also asking for an increase. Station Manager Lang Sheppard is requesting a $2,000 increase or 6.6% hike. He reported the station needs to replace its heat pump system and multiple pieces of editing equipment. He also mentioned concerns with the broadcast hardware's age. "The system was installed in 2017. It usually lasts six years, and it's coming up on 10. So we anticipate replacing it in the near future," Sheppard said. 

Selectman Steve Lewis asked about the station's streaming capability and if they had an app. Sheppard responded, a system glitch made the app non-responsive and the station is working on it. 

Town Manager Dan Bryer reminded everybody Friday, Feb. 13 was the due date for taxes. He is also reported on the roundabout's condition. There is a problem with the pavement, and selectmen want Bryer to contact Maine Department of Transportation about hiring an engineer. Bryer agreed to make the call. 

Selectmen meet next at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 25 in the conference room.