Budget Process Adopts Staff-Led Review of Cooperating Agency Requests & Community Services Partnerships

Carrie Jones

Feb 02, 2026

The Bar Harbor Story is generously sponsored by Acadia Psychiatry.

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BAR HARBOR—There were no presentations from nonprofits before the town council and warrant committee during their joint budget meeting, January 29. There were no heads of organizations explaining their specific narratives and need. There were no representatives of those agencies answering questions.

Instead, in a dramatic difference from past process, Town Clerk Liz Graves went through application after application that the town created for all the agencies hoping to gain financial support from the town via the budget and property for their work. There were no in-person presentations.

Each town in the Mount Desert Island region gets requests in their budgets from cooperating agencies. These can be local libraries, village improvement associations, food pantries or regional nonprofits such as Loaves and Fishes, the SPCA of Hancock County, or the Eastern Area on Agencies.

Town councils, select boards, and warrant committees weigh in and make recommendations. In the end, it is the voters at annual town meetings, which run through spring and into June, that make the final say or suggest tweaks. The funding comes from property taxes.

In Bar Harbor this year, the applicants corresponded with Graves and then she collated those into the draft budget. Town Manager James Smith, who was unable to attend the meeting last week, then put each agency’s request into the budget at the requested amount, except for the Bar Harbor Historical Society, which requested $90,000, up from $5,000.

Town Council Chair Valerie Peacock said that in the past the presentations help the council and warrant committee understand the reason for the increased asks.

“I think that’s something that’s missing,” Peacock said. “It helps the council understand policy” as well.

“This part of the budget feels to me like a town decision,” Peacock said and she worried about the council being gatekeepers in this tweaked process, rather than having the agencies going through all of the town, particularly for new requests.

“I would like help understanding why we don’t have people presenting this year,” warrant committee member Carol Chappell asked.

Graves said that a memo explains the reasoning.

That memo embedded in the proposed budget draft reads, “Council establishes the policy framework and funding priorities through the budget process. Staff implement that framework by managing applications, reviewing submissions for completeness and consistency, and presenting information in a manner that supports informed decision making and thoughtful evaluation by council. This separation of roles protects the integrity of the process, reinforces accountability, and keeps funding decisions grounded in adopted policy rather than informal influence or individual advocacy.”

There is no mention of the warrant committee in that narrative though the role of the committee is advisory, meant to recommend to the voters and council budget objectives and potential changes.

Warrant committee member Vicki Smith asked if there was an opportunity to ask questions of the agencies.

She was told not directly.

“We need to be consistent and fair,” Graves said. “If there is a really pressing question that you really need an answer to before the vote, then I can relay the question.”

Individuals and subcommittee members in the warrant committee are meant to email any questions to its chair, Chris Smith. She then is to email them to the town manager. This has occurred for a couple of years.

Prior to this change, cooperating agency representatives (all did not always attend) would present to the council and warrant committee, and department heads would also meet with warrant subcommittees and answer questions and talk through the budget.

Chris Smith said she would like to have more narrative about the volunteer hours for cooperating agencies and how they were spent would be helpful.

Similarly, the town has a new process with three major beneficiaries of tax dollars. Finance Director Sarah Gilbert presented an overview of the community service partnerships, which are the Jesup Memorial Library, MDI YMCA, and Island Explorer. The council previously approved this process in October.

The partnerships are meant to create a more structured understanding via MOU between the town and agency to outline expectations and guidelines.

The proposed budget maintains last year’s funding levels for last year’s partnership organizations, Gilbert said. There will be opportunities to discuss those further in upcoming workshops.

There is currently no timeline for the MOU negotiations to be completed.

The simplest way to think about it, Town Manager James Smith said in October, is that those three agencies deliver services that are often delivered by towns or cities.

Bar Harbor residents can use the YMCA, library, and Island Explorer are private entities. The library is free. Island Explorer is free. The YMCA has a sliding scale for its use and some free programming.

“We think the more streamlined approach would be to enter into MOUs with those entities, set the expectations that the council and the community has for those services that substantiate and justify their level of funding,” Smith had said.

Chappell said to advise about the community service organizations, she needed more information. She wanted to know how contribution requests are calculated for the Island Explorer. She wanted to understand the relationship between Island Explorer and Downeast Transportation as well. She had the same basic questions about the YMCA and library’s funding sources, but the only information they currently have is last year’s data.

“I feel that we need that given to us when we look at the budget so we understand (what) it is that we’re working on,” Chappell said.

Early in the meeting, town councilor and warrant committee members also disclosed any relationships they had with agencies requesting money from the town. Chris Smith said she was on the library’s board; Kevin Knopp is on the Island Connections’ board; Steven Boucher was on the YMCA board; Randell Sprague was on the West Eden Improvement Society board; Shaun Farrar’s daughter works for the Bar Harbor Historical Society.

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SAFE STREETS FOR ALL FEEDBACK

The DRAFT Plan can be found here: https://www.barharbormaine.gov/DocumentCenter/View/8720/Bar-Harbor-Vision-Zero-DRAFT-1-9-26_for_print_fullsize?bidId=

A public feedback session will be held on February 5 at 6:00 p.m., at the Annex at Side Street Cafe.

“If you can’t come to the event on February 5, a feedback survey can be accessed here: https://polco.us/n/res/vote/bar-harbor-me/bar-harbor-vision-zero-safety-action-plan-feedback

“Bar Harbor’s DRAFT Vision Zero Safety Action Plan is sponsored by a federal Safe Streets for All grant.”

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LINKS TO LEARN MORE

To read the draft budget.

To watch the meeting.

Disclosure: Shaun Farrar (of the Bar Harbor Story and my husband) is an elected member to the town’s warrant committee. His term ends this year. Much like all married humans, we do not always agree on topics (including whether we should be vegetarians and if classical music is awesome). He did not assist me with this article and since we’re a team of two, any errors are mine alone. My daughter is home again and working at the Bar Harbor Historical Society, which is mentioned in this article.

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