CHESTERVILLE — Polls will be open from noon to 6 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 3, for validating the Regional School Unit 9 budget.
Absentee ballots will be available during Town Office hours beginning July 26. Hours are Tuesday and Thursday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Wednesday from 9 a.m. to noon.
Absentee ballots will be available for anyone wishing to vote on July 26 and 27. To vote absentee on Aug. 1 or Aug. 2, a valid reason must be given for why voting isn’t possible on Aug. 3.
Last week, selectmen decided to extend voting hours to 8 p.m.
Town Clerk Pamela Griswold told the board Thursday night that there isn’t enough time to make that change. She said she had already sent voting information to RSU 9 before the selectmen voted.
Selectman Ross Clair asked who decided the voting hours.
“I made the decision,” Griswold said. “Legally, the polls in Chesterville have to be open four hours. I decided to be open six hours. I’m sorry I didn’t check with the board first.”
A districtwide budget vote will be held at 7 p.m. Tuesday, July 25 in Bjorn Auditorium on the Mt. Blue Campus. The proposed 2017-18 budget is $33.5 million, up $803,639 from last year. Voters in each of the 10 towns will vote yes or no on that amount Aug. 3.
Board of Selectmen Vice Chairman Tiffany Estabrook said a special school board meeting will be held at 7 p.m. Thursday, July 20, in the Forum at the Mt. Blue Campus. She asked if there would be time at that meeting to change the voting hours.
Griswold said it would be too late. Voting hours and absentee ballot information will be posted on the town’s website, www.townofchesterville.me, its Facebook page, and at the Town Office. People may also call the Town Office, 778-2433, during business hours for more information.
Friday morning, Superintendent Tom Ward said the warrant needed to be posted at least 14 days before the annual budget vote on July 25.
Estabrook said the town should have a consistent end time of 8 p.m. for voting. Election start times could be more flexible, she said.
Clair agreed with the later time. No formal decision was made.