Funding for a school resource officer for the Wiscasset School Department will be on the ballot after all. Voters will have the opportunity to approve or reject the $47,400 position when they head to the polls in June.

The decision to return the question to the warrant came Friday evening after Selectman Tim Merry asked the board to reconsider its decision. Merry, who was working and absent from Tuesday night’s selectmen’s meeting, felt strongly that the decision to fund the position should rest with voters.

Merry drew the board’s attention to the fact that the town voted to support the SRO position last year. 

“Had I been here (Tuesday) I would have been against removing it,” he said.

Following Merry’s comments, Selectman Ben Rines Jr. commented that he had been having second thoughts on the matter as well. He agreed funding the position should be left up to the voters and returning this to the warrant was the best way to proceed.

Selectmen Jeff Slack made it a majority, and the motion passed 3-2.

Chairman Pam Dunning and Selectman Bill Barnes both voted against the motion. During Tuesday’s discussion of the SRO, both felt the funding should come out of the school budget; something the school committee was considering.

Afterwards, Dunning told the newspaper she believed the SRO is an asset to the Wiscasset community.

“I would have preferred to have seen the position funded through the school budget so that Essential Programs and Services Funding from the state would have covered some of the cost,” she said.

Steve Smith, chairman of the school committee said afterwards he was satisfied with the board of selectmen’s decision. “I’m really happy the town gets to vote on this as an entire community.”

Smith said if the SRO article passes in June, the school board might give future consideration to incorporating funding for the position in its own budget next year.

Due to the need to post the warrant by Monday, it was noted by selectmen that the SRO article would not include a recommendation from the town’s budget committee.

In other business, the board of selectmen revisited two other articles. By a 3-2 vote (Rines, Merry and Dunning in the affirmative) they recommended raising $39,000 to purchase a new police cruiser. Selectmen Slack and Barnes were opposed.

The board agreed to recommend raising $68,950 for the Wiscasset Public Library, the vote was 3-1 with Dunning abstaining. Barnes was the lone dissenter.