Woolwich selectmen began work Feb. 4 on their 2026-2027 town budget. “Our goal is to continue providing the best services we can for the least amount of financial impact on the taxpayers,” Chairman David King Sr. told Wiscasset Newspaper over the phone. The annual town meeting is set for 6 p.m. Wednesday, April 29 at the Woolwich Central School gymnasium.

Along with King, vice chairman Jason Shaw and Tommy Davis were present for the budget review with Town Administrator Kim Dalton. Selectmen Dale Chadbourne and Allison Hepler were absent. Participants began by reviewing amounts needed for the day-to-day operation of the town office with the goal of keeping line items at, or close to, the current levels.

“All of this year’s warrant articles will be written such that they can be reduced, but not increased on motions from the floor,” King said  before the meeting started. At last year’s annual town meeting, voters amended a charitable gift to Bath Area Food Bank, increasing the donation from $1,250 to $10,000. The increase was to help address the area’s growing problem of food insecurity. The amount given by the town to non-profit organizations totaled $29,141. In a separate article, voters raised $71,506 in support of Patten Free Library in Bath. King said fire department, ambulance and highway budgets will be reviewed later this month.

During the regular meeting that followed, Selectman Tommy Davis said he’d received notification the town won’t be receiving grant funding for the reconstruction of a wooden bulkhead fronting the Kennebec River. Over the past year, the selectboard has been exploring options for replacing the bulkhead built over a century ago at the end of Old Stage Road and once used as a ferry landing. The bulkhead was damaged by a storm surge in January 2024. The board plans to seek other funding options.

Davis also noted the Communications Committee will begin updating the town’s website to make it more “user friendly” and eventually more Americans with Disabilities Act-accessible in compliance with a new law.  As promised, he said the electrical output of the town’s solar array off Middle Road is now being posted on the town’s website. 

EMS Director Daniel Evarts reported Woolwich ambulance responded to 28 calls in January; 27 patients were seen and 16 transported; MC1 was called four times, Bath Fire & Rescue and Wiscasset ambulance were called once each.  Woolwich ambulance provided mutual aid to Georgetown once.

“We’ve responded to five calls so far in February with five patients seen and four transported,” added Evarts.  He also said the new cardiac LifePak 15 monitor had been ordered in addition to new AED batteries. “We ended up getting the AED batteries for under $273 a piece, rather than the list price of $340 each,” he said.

The board approved a request from Fire Chief Shaun Merrill to purchase six air tank bottles from Industrial Services LLC, based in South Portland; the total price was $6,708.

The town administrator said property tax bills will be in the mail the week of Feb. 9 and are due March 10.

Selectman Shaw said he’d been in touch with Kennebec Estuary Land Trust (KELT) officials in Bath, who informed him their project on the lower end of George Wright and Nequasset roads was on schedule to begin later this year. 

The board appointed Tegan Rand of West Bath and Janelle Skillin of Wiscasset as deputy registrars. The two will also share the duties of deputy town clerk. Rand and Skillin were hired by the selectboard in December and have been training for the new duties. 

King noted he was serving again on the Sagadahoc County Commissioners’ budget advisory committee.  “I plan to ask the commissioners when their last audit was carried out and what the results of it were,” he commented. 

The town office will be closed on Presidents’ Day, Monday, Feb. 16.