Westport Islanders whittled away at their annual town budget proposal for over six hours Saturday, chopping what would have been a 20 percent increase in spending to a 4.5 percent increase.

They elected a new selectman, a five member and two alternate member budget committee, said "no" to Wiscasset for a fire works display donation, said yes to the school budget, and amended several articles on the warrant to decrease spending.

In Friday's election, Ross Norton was elected selectman, defeating Ron Harrison 156 to 73.

Judging from the 12 amended articles, two dismissed articles, and one failed article, voters didn't always agree with recommendations of the selectmen and the budget committee. The meeting was moderated by Curt Downer.

The article to exceed the LD 1 growth cap created the most discussion. It was Article 37 on the warrant. A motion to take it out of sequence passed, so it was taken up following Article 3, instead of being the last article on the warrant. An attempt to amend the article that would not allow the selectmen to exceed the limit failed; the original article, to allow the selectman to exceed the LD1 cap, passed by two votes, 48 to 46.

If all the articles on the warrant had passed, the town would have exceeded the LD 1 cap by about $43,000. However, because voters decreased the amount of several articles, they cut the budget by $45,000, thereby not exceeding the LD 1 cap.

The amended articles that passed began with Article 4, an additional stipend given to the first selectman. The budget committee, the second and third selectmen recommended $5,575; the voters approved $3,110.

The selectmen and budget committee recommended raising $12,500 to pay the Maine certified assessor; voters approved $10,000. The selectmen and budget committee recommended $7,500 for consulting work by the Maine certified assessor; voters approved $5,000.

The amount of $850 for the boards and committees of the town to pay for operating expenses was decreased by $100 after Plumping Inspector Gerald Bodmer said he did not need the $100.

The selectmen and budget committee recommended $27,672 be raised for the municipal landing account loan; voters approved taking $12,000 from the municipal account and raising $15,672.

The operation and maintenance of the town office building request was decreased by $1,000. Voters took $1,000 from the annual town report and meeting line, decreasing it from $3,000 to $2,000, making the total to be raised $$49,067.

The selectmen and budget committee recommend that $8,735 be carried forward from the contingency account and raising $6,265; the voters approved carrying forward $8,735, but reduced the $6,265 to $1,265, making the total $10,000.

The selectmen and budget committee recommended $3,500 to establish a maintenance fund for major repairs to town-owned properties based on a 30 year projection; voters approved $2,500.

Voters amended the amount of the service organization donations from $23,703 to $21,703. They eliminated the $1,000 request from the American Red Cross, decreased the amount to the Wiscasset Library from $8,364 to $7,273, and accepted the donation to the Wiscasset Community Center with a condition. The condition is that Westport Island residents continue to be offered Wiscasset resident prices. If not, the $8,000 would be put into a scholarship to be used for Westport Island residents to use for membership at the community center.

The voters approved the school budget that was adopted at their special town meeting, June 14. The total is about $1.2 million, with $854,834 being raised from taxes, $229,148 from surplus, and $94,446 in state subsidy for special education.

An article to donate $800 to the town of Wiscasset's fireworks display failed.

Two articles were dismissed. Article 14, recommended by the conservation commission to raise $5,000 to be set aside for matching funds for state and federal grants was dismissed because the budget committee and selectmen had recommended a similar provision in Article 15 which is not limited to conservation projects. However, Article 15 was amended from $5,000 to $4,250, before being approved.

The other dismissed article recommended by the budget committee was to raise $10,000 to begin road improvements recommended by the road committee.

Warrant articles approved with no amendments included: town officers salaries each with a 3.65 percent cost of living increase, Selectmen each, $3,330; tax collector/administrative assistant, $23,083; municipal agent, $11,370; town clerk/registrar of voters $4,665; custodian $2,070; constable, $800; E-911 addressing officer, $800; EMA director, $880; harbor master $800; and health officer $285, for a total of $54,743.

The additional stipend for the assessor's agent field support was approved for $3,150. The town's share of the Wiscasset Transfer Station's operating cost of $75,106 was approved. The voters approved raising $16,097 to pay off the purchase of the town's new fire truck, purchased in 2004, and approved $12,000 for the Fire Department budget.

The voters approved a request from the Groundwater Protection Committee for $1,400 to test six wells on the island, two times a year to establish a baseline of water supply along the island.

The articles for the Westport Island Town Hall maintenance and repairs passed; $4,800 was raised, and $350 was carried forward. Another $2,500 was raised and $2,300 was carried forward for the town hall reserve account for future requirements such as heating upgrades, roof work, and painting.

The voters approved $15,000 for legal expenses. In order to buy a new telephone system for the town office for $2,691, voters raised $3,000 and carried forward $3,300 from the capital improvement fund to pay for it. The digital tax map project can move forward with the voters approving to raise $1,080 and carrying forward $120 for providing digital tax maps and updating the town's GIS data base using satellite and aerial imagery.

Budget Committee members elected were Rhonda L. Cromwell, and Kimberly Greenleaf, each a three-year term; Dennis Cromwell, and Ruth Nelson, a two year term; Richard DeVries, a one-year term; alternate members elected were David Blake, a two-year term, and Sandra Besecker, a one-year term. School Committee members elected were Sandra Crehore, for a three-year term, and Lissa Hamilton, for a two-year term.