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In Maine, March is town meeting season, and even though some towns have abandoned these annual gatherings in favor of referendum-style voting, plenty of towns maintain this proud, colonial tradition of direct participation in local government.

These meetings serve to pass budgets and adopt laws and ordinances, but they also serve as social gatherings, often with potluck on the agenda.

I covered a town meeting in Hebron years ago where residents fiercely discussed dozens of spending articles before noon, and then broke for dinner. The change of mood in the room was instant, from one of contentious debate to friendly banter.

Food will do that.

When the first rush of town meetings begins on Saturday, March 1, residents across the state will experience much the same thing. Monitor Local will be reporting on many of these annual meetings, but we also urge you to attend in person and participate to the fullest.

There’s really nothing like it.

The Maine Municipal Association’s guide to town meetings contains a gem of a quote about town meetings from the former Biddeford Journal Tribune’s editorial board: “The purest form of democracy is participatory democracy, in which you put your butt in the chair at the meeting house or the high school gym and you have your say and you cast your vote on every last blessed item on the warrant.”

We hope you find our reporting useful this town meeting season.

We also hope that you are enjoying this newsletter and encourage you to share it with family members and friends. They can sign up on our website to have it delivered to their own inbox each Saturday.

You know what season has also arrived? Frost heaves.

Mud won’t be far behind.

Norway Select Board looks to speed up rent moratorium to get issue before voters: Residents push for quick action as April 1 rent increase approaches at town’s largest mobile home park. Read this story by Jon Bolduc

Wilton sets town meeting for June 22, delays discussion on police collaboration: A planned review of options to partner with Jay on police coverage was tabled because not all Board of Selectpersons members were at this week’s meeting. Read this story by Bob Neal

RSU 73 weighs increases, cuts as budget deadline nears: The effort to hold the budget increase to 3.18 percent means cuts to athletics and to library spending across the Spruce Mountain schools. Read this story by Bob Neal

Somerset County commissioners to push for lower speed limit on Lake Moxie Road in The Forks: Problems with high speeds and a lack of enforcement came up during a public hearing on a proposal to allow ATVs to share the paved road. Read this story by Judith Meyer

Bankruptcy bill amended to force county governments to conduct timely audits: If passed, the measure will require audits to be completed within 12 months of the end of each county’s fiscal year. Read this story by Judith Meyer

While The Maine Monitor does not place its content behind paywalls, some newsrooms we link to in this newsletter may. 

Shelters in Rumford and elsewhere in the state are hoping the Legislature increases a critical subsidy | Portland Press Herald

Oxford Hills school district will vote on a $3.8 million bus garage proposal next week | Advertiser Democrat

Lawmakers are discussing possible solutions to the state’s housing and workforce shortages | WGME

An affordable apartment building with 25 units will open soon in Farmington | Bangor Daily News

See where Maine’s outsized share of $460 million in federal earmarks is going | The Maine Monitor and Bangor Daily News 

Declining membership is impacting historical societies in western Maine | Bethel Citizen

Police seized guns and magazines of ammunition from the Fairfield home of the man accused of shooting three Central Maine Power substations last Sunday, causing widespread outages | Kennebec Journal

Warmer winters have maple sap flowing earlier, in some cases shortening the season | WGME

The annual Board of Visitors’ report on the Franklin County Detention Center showcased improvements to the facility’s medical and security infrastructure, but also challenges relating to the age of the building | Sun Journal

Kingfield is preparing a plan to withdraw from the MSAD 58 school district | Franklin Journal

Dixfield is seeking volunteers to look at developing a plan to make the community more resilient to flooding and other climate-related disasters | Rumford Falls Times

A Skowhegan appeals board upheld code violations levied against a local shelter | Morning Sentinel

A federal judge denied a preliminary injunction filed by the owners of Maine solar farms to halt new fees included in Maine’s updated Net Energy Billing program | Maine Public

Bill would require Maine hospitals to give more notice before closing maternity wards | WGME

Solar companies lose bid to restore Maine incentives | Maine Public

Committee moves forward with bill regarding vaccines | WABI  (Maine Monitor context: Maine considers how to untether itself from federal vaccine rollbacks)

Have feedback, a correction or know of something we should look into? Send it to our newsroom. You can reach Monitor Local editor Judy Meyer directly via email: judy@themainemonitor.org.

The Maine Monitor is a publication of the Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting, an independent and nonpartisan nonprofit news organization that produces investigative journalism. We believe news is a public good and keep our news free to access. We have no paywall and do not charge for our newsletters. If you value the reporting we do for Maine, please consider making a donation! We cannot do this reporting without your support.

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