Trenton May Join Community Resilience Partnership Select Board and School Committee Seats Open

Trenton May Join Community Resilience Partnership

Select Board and School Committee Seats Open Shaun Farrar Feb 23, 2025 Share The Bar Harbor Story is generously sponsored by The Witham Family Hotels Charitable Fund. TRENTON—There are 52 communities in Hancock County, Maine. Of those, one is a city, 36 are towns, and 15 are unorganized townships. Of that 52, only eight are part of the state’s community resilience partnership. Soon, Trenton may become number … Continue reading Trenton May Join Community Resilience Partnership

Bar Harbor Talks Trash—and the Price Tag That Comes With It Pay-as-you-throw, waste streams, recycling all discussed

Bar Harbor Talks Trash—and the Price Tag That Comes With It

Pay-as-you-throw, waste streams, recycling all discussed Carrie Jones Feb 19, 2025 Share The Bar Harbor Story is generously sponsored by Edward Jones Financial Advisor: Elise N. Frank. BAR HARBOR—Bar Harbor will continue to investigate how its trash and recycling choices could be potentially changed. Those changes may help the taxpayer or the budget. “Waste disposal is expensive,” consultant Thomas Henaghen told the town councilors, February 18. “More weight … Continue reading Bar Harbor Talks Trash—and the Price Tag That Comes With It

Warrant Committee Weighs Budget Recommendations, Slightly Divided on YMCA Funding School Subsidy Should Be Better Than Expected

Warrant Committee Weighs Budget Recommendations, Slightly Divided on YMCA Funding

School Subsidy Should Be Better Than Expected Carrie Jones Feb 11, 2025 Share The Bar Harbor Story is generously sponsored by Paradis Ace Hardware. BAR HARBOR—The entire warrant committee went over the recommendations from the public works and public safety subcommittees, two of its four subcommittees, February 10. Each subcommittee looks at revenue, expenses, and capital projects. Subcommittee chairs “will either recommend adoption of portions of … Continue reading Warrant Committee Weighs Budget Recommendations, Slightly Divided on YMCA Funding

4 2 Town Manager & Finance Director Meet With Bar Harbor Warrant Committee

Town Manager & Finance Director Meet With Bar Harbor Warrant Committee

Carrie Jones Feb 05, 2025 Share BAR HARBOR—For just about a month or so, in the middle of winter in Maine, volunteers and staff in town after town hunker over spreadsheets, scan Excel documents, and shepherd the budgets of their town to voters. Sometimes they winnow. Sometimes they expand. But in meeting after meeting, the work gets done. It is the height of that work … Continue reading Town Manager & Finance Director Meet With Bar Harbor Warrant Committee

Bar Harbor Funding in Question: Library, Y, and Other Nonprofits Seek Increases; Island Explorer Hopes for Status Quo

Bar Harbor Funding in Question: Library, Y, and Other Nonprofits Seek Increases; Island Explorer Hopes for Status Quo

Decreased amounts of cruise ships impacting town budget and some nonprofits Carrie Jones Jan 31, 2025 The Bar Harbor Story is generously sponsored by Edward Jones Financial Advisor: Elise N. Frank. BAR HARBOR—A decrease in cruise ship revenue due to less ships visiting Bar Harbor and increased need from local and regional nonprofit agencies came up multiple times as Bar Harbor discussed its budget last night. … Continue reading Bar Harbor Funding in Question: Library, Y, and Other Nonprofits Seek Increases; Island Explorer Hopes for Status Quo

Council and Warrant Committee Discuss Bar Harbor's Proposed School Budget

Council and Warrant Committee Discuss Bar Harbor’s Proposed School Budget

Carrie Jones Jan 29, 2025 Share The Bar Harbor Story is generously sponsored by Paradis Ace Hardware. BAR HARBOR—School Superintendent Mike Zboray, Conners Emerson Principal Dr. Heather Weir Webster, and AOS Business Manager Nancy Thurlow presented the Conners Emerson budget to town councilors and warrant committee members, January 28. Zboray handed out a budget fact sheet that detailed each piece of the budget that would be … Continue reading Council and Warrant Committee Discuss Bar Harbor’s Proposed School Budget

Building a Road to Bring More Homes Mount Desert Commits to Ripples Housing Phase 3, Discusses Budget, and Appoints Shelby O'Neil to the Police Force

Building a Road to Bring More Homes

Mount Desert Commits to Ripples Housing Phase 3, Discusses Budget, and Appoints Shelby O’Neil to the Police Force Carrie Jones Jan 25, 2025 Share MOUNT DESERT—The Ripples Hill neighborhood has been expanding housing in Mount Desert in phases. Now, the Island Housing Trust’s promise to finish a neighborhood in town has received two significant leaps forward. The Island Housing Trust asked the town to provide … Continue reading Building a Road to Bring More Homes

Bar Harbor Manager Suggests Using Parking Revenue to Decrease Potential Tax Increase to 6.7%

Bar Harbor Manager Suggests Using Parking Revenue to Decrease Potential Tax Increase to 6.7%

Carrie Jones Jan 24, 2025 Share The Bar Harbor Story is generously sponsored by Acadia Shops. BAR HARBOR—In a meeting that lasted just over an hour, Town Manager James Smith presented the budget to town councilors and warrant committee members, January 23, in a high-level overview. It’s a budget that he hopes will help the town deal with bond payments on school and infrastructure as well … Continue reading Bar Harbor Manager Suggests Using Parking Revenue to Decrease Potential Tax Increase to 6.7%

AOS 91 Budget of $3.4 Million Voted on by 26 Voters Representing All Eight Towns in the AOS Shaun Farrar Jan 23, 2025 BAR HARBOR—The AOS 91 FY25/26 budget was unanimously approved at the MDI High School library on Wednesday, January 22. A total of 26 registered voters from five of the eight towns that make up the AOS 91 showed up to participate, the vast majority of them being either school board members or school employees. The towns that were represented and the amount of people from each town are below. Bar Harbor – eight representatives, Tremont – six representatives, Mount Desert – five representatives, Southwest Harbor – four representatives, Trenton – three representatives. The towns without any representation were the island towns of Swan’s Island, Frenchboro, and the Cranberry Isles. There are no quorum requirements for the annual AOS budget meeting. Photo: Shaun Farrar/Bar Harbor Story BUDGET MEETING The first order of business was to elect a moderator to preside over the meeting and Jerry Miller, who is co-chairman of the Town of Mount Desert Warrant Committee, was nominated. That nomination was seconded and Miller was elected unopposed. Miller was sworn in and took over the running of the meeting. Selena Dunbar, who is the executive assistant to School Superintendent Mike Zboray, was next nominated to be the secretary for the meeting. That nomination was seconded, and Dunbar was elected. Those in attendance voted in favor of non-residents being able to make public comment during the meeting. Articles one through three, which authorize expenditures for the AOS central office, were then voted on and they all passed unanimously, or at least with no nays as they were verbal votes. They are listed below. Article 1 – To see what sum the AOS will be authorized to expend for special education. AOS School Committee recommends $1,260,735. The FY24/25 amount was $920,586. Article 2 – To see what sum the AOS will be authorized to expend for student and staff support. AOS School Committee recommends $947,670. The FY24/25 amount was $868,675. Article 3 – To see what sum the AOS will be authorized to expend for system administration. AOS School Committee recommends $1,190,852. The FY24/25 amount was $974,795. Photo: Shaun Farrar/Bar Harbor Story Articles 4 through 11 were then voted on and they all passed unanimously, or at least with no nays as they were verbal votes. These articles all carried a zero-sum budget request and were voted on as a matter of procedure. Article 12 summarized the proposed AOS 91 budget and is the sum total of the first three articles. Article 12 – To see what sum the AOS will authorize the AOS School Committee to expend for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2025 and ending June 30, 2026 for the support of the AOS central office budget. The AOS School Committee recommends $3,399,257. The FY24/25 amount was $ 2,764,056. Article 12 was a hand count vote and all 26 voters in attendance voted yes. Article 13 authorized the expenditure of any grants or other receipts for “central office purposes.” Articles 13 – Shall the AOS School Committee be authorized to expend such other sums as may be received from federal or state grants or programs or other sources during the fiscal year for central office purposes provided that such grants, programs or other sources do not require the expenditure of other funds not previously appropriated? Article 13 was also a hand count vote and 25 voters in attendance voted yes. There were no abstentions and no nays. The next budget meeting of this type will be for the high school’s budget and it is scheduled for Wednesday, April 2, at 6 p.m., at the high school. LINKS TO LEARN MORE Proposed AOS 91 Budget And How It Could Affect Your Taxes Proposed AOS 91 Budget And How It Could Affect Your Taxes Shaun Farrar · Jan 20 Read full story Proposed MDI High School Budget And How It Could Affect Your Taxes Proposed MDI High School Budget And How It Could Affect Your Taxes Shaun Farrar · Jan 16 Read full story Bar Harbor Story is a mostly self-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Thank you for being here with us and caring about our community, too! Subscribed Thanks for reading Bar Harbor Story ! This post is public so feel free to share it. Share If you’d like to donate to help support us, you can, but no pressure! Just click here (about how you can give) or here (a direct link), which is the same as the button below. Our mailing address is 98 Ledgelawn Ave., Bar Harbor, Maine, 04609 To support The Story If you’d like to sponsor the Bar Harbor Story, you can! Learn more here.

AOS 91 Budget of $3.4 Million Voted on by 26 Voters Representing All Eight Towns in the AOS

Shaun Farrar Jan 23, 2025 Share BAR HARBOR—The AOS 91 FY25/26 budget was unanimously approved at the MDI High School library on Wednesday, January 22. A total of 26 registered voters from five of the eight towns that make up the AOS 91 showed up to participate, the vast majority of them being either school board members or school employees. The towns that were represented … Continue reading AOS 91 Budget of $3.4 Million Voted on by 26 Voters Representing All Eight Towns in the AOS

Southwest Harbor Begins Work on Its Budget EMS Committee Bylaws Sent Back to Tremont, Lobster Buyer Truck Permits Given Out

Southwest Harbor Begins Work on Its Budget

EMS Committee Bylaws Sent Back to Tremont, Lobster Buyer Truck Permits Given Out Carrie Jones Jan 21, 2025 Share The Bar Harbor Story is generously sponsored by The Witham Family Hotels Charitable Fund. SOUTHWEST HARBOR—The Southwest Harbor budget process began last week with a perusal of the Pemetic Elementary School budget and the budget review of requests for outside agencies. “The CIP was thin. The reserves … Continue reading Southwest Harbor Begins Work on Its Budget