Voters will decide between two former selectmen to fill a five-month term on the Wiscasset Board of Selectman on Tuesday, Jan. 31. Absentee ballots are available at the town office.

The vacancy was created by the resignation of Judy Flanagan in November. Her unexpired term runs until June 30. Voters will choose between Lawrence “Larry” Gordon and Katharine G. Martin-Savage.

Gordon served 27 years on the board, 21 as chairman. He retired from the board in 1998.

“There’s no part of town government I don’t understand. After seeing some of the budget-related problems selectmen have struggled with over the past year, I thought with my experience, I could help get the town’s finances back under control,” he said.

“We can’t afford another 14 percent property tax increase like we had this year. If the people elect me, the first thing I’ll do is have a hard look at our books and accounting methods. I know too, there are areas where we can save by making cuts.

“One of my goals is to simplify the budget so that anyone in town can understand it. That’s the way it always was and there’s no reason why it can’t be that way again. When I was on the board, we didn’t have a town manager. The selectmen did the property valuations, put the budgets together and handled all the general assistance accounts. We also oversaw dozens of projects, the sewer, construction of the transfer station, street construction. We hired engineers and contractors but we were the ones who answered to the townspeople.

“Selectmen are still the ones who are responsible. If I’m elected, I want people to know they can come to me with their concerns and I’ll bring them to the board.”

If an account or departmental budget is over-drafted, Gordon said the selectmen should go to the townspeople for authority to cover the overdraft. “I also don’t agree with taking monies from reserve accounts or contingency to hire additional town personnel or purchase emergency vehicles. Bring it to the townspeople, make your argument, and let them decide whether or not they feel the expense is warranted.”

Gordon said he was glad the school committee is now allowing residents to vote on its plans to finance $1.7 in conservation improvements.

“Because of the amount of money they want to spend, it should positively go to the townspeople for a vote.” The proposal should be decided by a referendum vote, not a special town meeting, he added. “More people would have the opportunity to vote.”

Gordon said he’s watched with alarm as the town and school budgets have risen each year. “The budgets can’t keep going up the way they have been, people are struggling now to pay their property taxes. And if taxes keep rising we’ll never be able to attract the new businesses we need to help with the tax base.

“I’m really concerned and a lot of other people in town, many of them on fixed incomes have told me they’re worried too. If it continues the way it’s going they wonder how they’ll ever be able to pay their taxes.”

Gordon also shared concerns about the Maine Department of Transportation’s planned $5 million downtown project. “We’ve got to be very careful as far as what we allow them to do. People come to visit Wiscasset from all over because of our historic downtown. “Like a lot of other people, I’m wondering whether what MDOT wants to do is really needed. Will it help with the traffic, or will it make things worse? We also have to consider what this is going to cost for the town to maintain after MDOT is through.”

Gordon resides on Federal Street with his wife Norma. This past year he retired from selling real estate after 43 years in business. He continues doing some accounting services. He’s a 50-year member of the Wiscasset Fire Department and a past member of the Wiscasset Ambulance Service, being one of its first members. He’s also a 50-year member of the Lincoln Lodge of Masons.

Katharine Martin-Savage told the newspaper she had made up her mind to run again for the board of selectmen even before the vacancy became available.

Martin-Savage served a two-year term on the board from 2002 through 2004. “I wanted to become involved again for a lot of different reasons but mostly it had to do with the way property taxes have been going up year after year.

“Like a lot of other people, I kept asking why it was necessary to have a 14 percent property tax increase. That really hit hard. There are a lot of people already that are struggling to pay their taxes. It impacted our business community as well. This can’t go on.”

She said among the biggest challenge the selectmen face is educating voters on how the budgets and other expenditures impact the tax rate before people head to the polls.

Martin-Savage said the board of selectmen needs to work closer with the school committee to rein in costs. She said the committee made the right decision to allow residents to vote on the $1.7 conservation project. “What they want to do might be a good thing and save the town money in the long run but the school committee should make their argument to the townspeople and let them decide whether they feel the investment is worthwhile. It’s a matter of the townspeople having a say where their tax dollars are being spent. But, I feel strongly that the board of selectmen has the responsibility of making it clear how any proposed increases in the town and school budgets will impact the tax rate.”

Martin-Savage said she has serious concerns about MDOT’s planned downtown project. “I’m not upset that voters supported Option 2, but since the non-binding vote was taken last March the scope of the project has changed. “There’s no longer any federal dollars involved in it and I’m afraid because of this, the state won’t be as concerned about preserving the historic buildings downtown or respect our local ordinances that protect these properties.

“I also feel strongly that eliminating all of the parking on Main Street will have a negative impact on the businesses there. There has got to be a way for MDOT to do some of what they want to do and still allow for some Main Street parking. We should be doing more, not less to support all of our business community.”

Continuing with that thought, Martin-Savage said she’d like to see the town manager and town planner get more proactive in the area of economic development. “We need to do a better job at the town office in promoting our community and all the things we have to offer. Other communities around us have attracted new businesses and investors because they work at it. If we could do this here, it would help with our tax base as well as provide more jobs.”

When Martin-Savage was on the board, it met weekly, not twice a month. She said during the budget process she’d expect selectmen to meet more often. Meeting weekly year-round would require a consensus of the board, she added.

If elected, Martin-Savage said she plans to run again in June for a full two-year term.

Before retiring in 1994, Martin-Savage worked in the Lincoln County District Attorney’s Office. Previously, she was employed by the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office. The last few years, Martin-Savage has served as a member of the Two Bridges Regional Jail Authority. She was married to the late Lewis Savage. Martin-Savage resides in a restored farmhouse off Indian Road.

Following the special election, the newly elected selectman will take office at the start of the 2017-18 budget process and serve a five-month term. Should they want to remain on the board of selectmen, they’ll need to file nomination papers again at the end of March.