BUCKFIELD — Budget Committee Chairman Glen Holmes accused the Board of Selectmen on Tuesday evening of taking away choices from voters and invalidating the Budget Committee’s work.

At their meeting two weeks ago, selectmen voted 2-1 to change all town meeting warrant articles on appropriations to closed-ended, meaning voters can decrease amounts listed but not increase them. Martha Catevenis and Scott Violette voted for the change and Cheryl Coffman voted against it.

In recent memory, Buckfield had open-ended warrant articles with no official monetary amount attached. The articles included amounts recommended by selectmen and the Budget Committee.

Holmes wanted to know why selectmen decided to go from open-ended to close-ended articles without any outside discussion. He said the seven-member Budget Committee is appointed by selectmen and was asked to do a lot of work.

“You have said multiple times the Budget Committee is a recommendation to the selectmen and that they make the choices to go onto the warrant,” Catevenis answered. She said the final decision lies with her board.

“Historically, always if there has been a difference (in monetary recommendations), there have been two choices,” Holmes said. “And you have taken that choice away. … I want two choices.”

Holmes said the committee spent countless hours going over the budget and a new capital improvement plan.

“Now it’s being said, ‘Well it’s a dollar more than we like, you don’t even get a chance, citizens, to vote on that because we capped this,’” Holmes said.

Violette said a future board could decide to change the way the warrant articles are written.

After some back and forth with Violette, Holmes requested that selectmen revisit their vote and then walked out of the meeting room.

Earlier Tuesday evening, selectmen briefly discussed a letter signed by 30 residents asking selectmen to reconsider their vote for closed-ended warrant articles, but opted to take no action.

The letter was dated May 8 and received May 15. The letter was circulated by resident Lucille Allen and stated the purpose of having a town meeting is for the townspeople to vote on the articles.

“Whether it be to reduce, increase or go with the recommendation of the board and Budget Committee. With the closed-ended warrant articles, we will not have that option,” the letter read. “Just the words ‘closed-ended’ seems to represent the lack of respect for you have for everyone in this community.”

Catevenis asked for a motion regarding the letter and Coffman made one for the board to revisit its vote.

“I appreciate that you have made the motion but you were the dissenting vote on that and it would need to be done by the ones who voted in the positive in order for the article to be opened back up,” Catevenis told Coffman.

Silence followed.

“With that said, we accept the letters and all three selectmen have reviewed them,” Catevenis said.

Also Tuesday, selectmen voted 2-1 to remove from the budget $3,250 for an air conditioner for the new Fire-Rescue Station.

Chairwoman Martha Catevenis and Scott Violette voted for cutting it; Cheryl Coffman abstained, saying she might want to revisit the line.

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