Westport Islanders will take to the polls Friday, June 20, to elect a new selectman, a new budget committee, two school committee members, and to vote "yes" or "no" on the school budget. The polls will be open at the historic town hall at 10 a.m. and close at 8 p.m.

Ronald Harrison and Ross Norton are both seeking the third selectman's seat held by incumbent Jack Swanton, who chose not to seek re-election.

There are eight candidates seeking seven seats on the budget committee, which includes two alternate members. Candidates include: Sandra Besecker; Lloyd Bladow; David Blake; Rhonda L. Cromwell; Richard DeVries; Dennis Dunbar; Kimberly Greenleaf; and Ruth Nelson.

The school member candidates include: Sandra Crehore running for the three-year term, and Lisa Hamilton running for the two-year term.

On Saturday, June 21, beginning at 9 a.m. Westport Islanders will deal with 38 articles on the town meeting warrant.

The first article is town officer's salaries, with the selectmen and the budget committee recommending a 3.65 percent increase: three selectmen each to receive $3,330; Tax collector and Administrative Assistant $23,083; Municipal Agent $11,370; Town Clerk/Registrar of Voters (plus fees) $4,665; custodian $2,070; constable $800; E-911 addressing officer $800; EMA Director $800; harbor master $800; and health officer $285.

The voters will also be asked to raise an additional stipend of $5,575 for the chairman of the board of selectmen. This is recommended by the budget committee, the second and third selectmen. Last year's additional stipend for the chairman of the board was $3,000.

The voters will be asked in another article to raise $3,150 for field support of the assessor's agent to be paid at a rate of $15 per hour, with a bi-weekly log to be kept of the hours spent. The Maine Certified Assessor will be paid $50 per hour, for an estimated 250 hours, providing the voters say yes to an article to raise $12,500 for that purpose, and another $7,500 for consultations with tax payers, court time, and preparation.

The selectmen and budget committee are recommending buying a new telephone system for the town office building for $2,691.

The selectmen are recommending that $3,365 be carried over from the capital improvement account, and are recommending that an additional $3,000 be raised and put into the account.

The Groundwater Protection Committee along with the selectmen and budget committee have recommended raising $1,400 to be used to test six wells two times per year to establish water supply characteristics along the island. In addition to the testing the committee will send out two newsletters.

The budget committee and selectmen are recommending the establishment of a maintenance fund in anticipation of major repairs to town owned properties, based on a 30-year projection of those costs, with $3,500 be raised the first year.

Others articles on the warrant include: Boards and Committee expenses, $800; Town Hall operation and Maintenance, $4,800; Municipal Landing account, $27,672; Town Office operation and maintenance, $50.067; Contingent $6,265; Legal Fund, $15,000; Digital Tax Map project, $1,080; Road improvements, $10,000; Westport Island Fire Department, $12,000; fire truck payoff, $16,097; service organization donations: $23,784; and a donation toward the Wiscasset fireworks display, $800.

The town report should be available at the town office Thursday, June 19, according to First Selectman George Richardson. This year's report is dedicated to the Wright Property Ferry Landing project. The dedication, written by the town's three selectmen says, "The citizens of Westport voted to purchase the property in order to ensure all residents now and in the future will have access to the Back River. Through subsequent hearings and votes residents have made it clear they are overwhelmingly in support of this project."

"At the time of this printing, the project is on hold due to a lawsuit by E. Davies Allan, Michael Stern, and Paul Nergaard. We are awaiting an outcome from the court case before we can move on and carry out the wishes of the townspeople. We do however remain very positive about the outlook of this development. We believe this project, once completed will provide a valued resource for the current residents as well as a legacy for future generations."