A day after giving their approval to both school budgets, Damariscotta voters approved the remainder of the town's budget on Wednesday, June 10.

Voters agreed on the $1.8 million municipal budget during Damariscotta's town meeting, which was held at the Lincoln Theater, but disagreed when it came to other matters.

Voters weren't so accommodating with article seven, which would have given the Damariscotta board of selectmen the ability to enter into interlocal agreements with Newcastle.

Voters who spoke out against the article cited the article's lack of specifics and lack of an end date, with several people saying it gave the selectmen a carte blanche to enter into agreements with Newcastle.

Fire Chief John Roberts attempted to add an amendment that would restrict the article to only include interlocal agreements that pertain to harbor and shellfish ordinances, which failed after voters were evenly split, 31-31.

Roberts cited a $60,000 increase from 2011 to 2015 in the existing interlocal agreement between Newcastle and Damariscotta for roads as a reason why he was leery about allowing the selectmen to enter into more agreements without prior voter approval.

“With the one program we already have (the interlocal agreement for roads), it's increased costs and increased my taxes,” he said. “There's no end dates, and no restrictions. That's what I have a problem with.”

Voters would eventually vote the article down by a 28-37 margin.

However, voters would change their minds and reconsider the article, with an amendment from Damariscotta Town Manager Matt Lutkus to focus the article to just shellfish conservation and management and harbor management.

The second vote on an amended article seven was passed, 45-3.

Lutkus said the numbers weren't available for any cost savings for the interlocal agreement because the amount and scope of work has changed substantially from 2011 to 2015. Lutkus added that he would look for any opportunity that could produce further savings or savings split between the two towns.

Lutkus was also the subject of an amendment, when voters agreed, 50-10, to restore his hours and salary to a full-time basis. Lutkus had volunteered to cut his pay and hours by 10 percent to help Damariscotta reduce its budget in the face of a substantial increase in the secondary school budget.

Damariscotta resident and budget committee member Dick Mayer said that while Lutkus' proposed cut was generous, the town was better served with Lutkus installed full-time.

“A town this size cannot operate with a part-time town manager,” he said. “For everything Matt does, we need him on a full-time basis, and while his offer was a generous one, I would like to amend the total general government amount by adding $9,709 to bring the total to $691,850.”

The current interlocal agreement was nearly dissolved when selectman-elect Josh Pinkham made an amendment to the highway budget to drop the interlocal line item from $105,000 to $0, and increase the highway department budget by $65,000 to $293,540.

The first amendment was voted down, 36-21, and the second amendment was withdrawn, meaning the interlocal agreement stays.

Pinkham said that by leaving the interlocal agreement the town would get more employee hours at a a lower cost in town, and any large project could benefit local contractors.

“This is going back to what we had before,” Pinkham said of the amendments. “Get Damariscotta more hours. (The agreement) was supposed to save us money. One thing I've asked before is 'Keep good records' and we're having the same discussion tonight.

“We're not keeping good records. We're not tracking jobs. Let's clean it up, go back to the way it was before. Every dollar Damariscotta spends needs to be accounted for.”

Had the town agreed to sever ties with Newcastle, it also would have meant severing ties with current Superintendent of Roads Steve Reynolds.

“If you eliminate the interlocal agreement, you'd be relieving me of my duties, and Damariscotta would no longer have a (superintendent),” he said. “Newcastle is my contracting town.

“Last year Damariscotta receive 62 percent of the hours to Newcastle's 38 percent. I've provided demonstrations of that over the last several years. This would be a disservice to the town to zero-out this department without talking about it first.”

Overall, voters approved a $1.8 million municipal budget that includes Damariscotta's government, public works and public safety department, and a county budget of $439,000, a $2.1 million local share for Great Salt Bay, and $1.7 million for the secondary schools.