LEWISTON — About a dozen state workers marched along Main Street outside the Department of Health and Human Services office Wednesday to protest going more than four years without raises. The DHHS workers, members of the more than 10,000-member Maine State Employees Association, used their lunch hour to bring attention to what they say are […]
budget
Posted inRiver Valley
Dixfield voters OK lower town office budget
DIXFIELD — Voters at the annual town meeting Thursday passed a budget for personnel and operation of the town office that is slightly less than last year. Former Town Manager Eugene Skibitsky said cuts were primarily made in personnel services and utilities, bringing the Executive Department budget to $310,953, which is $9,047 less than last […]
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Posted inMaine
Lawmakers push off pay-freeze bill until 2014
AUGUSTA — State lawmakers Wednesday iced a bill that would have docked lawmakers’ pay if the Legislature failed to reach a budget agreement and Maine government shut down. Despite saying they favored the concept, offered by state Rep. Diane Russell, D-Portland, members of the State and Local Government Committee voted 5-4 to put off dealing […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Maine House approves bill to expand Medicaid, pay hospitals
AUGUSTA — After a four-hour debate Tuesday, the House of Representatives approved a bill that would pay off Maine’s $484 million debt to the state’s hospitals, agreeing to go along with a Democrat-backed amendment calling for the state to accept federal money to expand Medicaid to roughly 70,000 people. The bill won approval by an […]
Posted inAdvertiser Democrat, Oxford Hills
Selectmen cut town budget by 7.33 percent
NORWAY — The Board of Selectmen will recommend voters approve a 7.33 percent budget cut for town services when the annual town meeting gets under way next month. The proposed $3.9 million budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1 includes a $316,296 cut in town services. The amount is 7.33 percent less than last […]
Posted inBusiness, Nation / World, sj-web
Obama budget cuts deficits $1.1T by 2023
WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama’s budget would trim projected federal deficits by $1.1 trillion over the coming decade, using nearly $6 in higher revenues for every $1 in reduced spending to achieve it, Congress’ nonpartisan budget analyst said Friday. After four straight years of annual shortfalls exceeding $1 trillion, the Congressional Budget Office report said […]
Posted inRiver Valley
State law moves Rumford budget protesters away from Town Hall
RUMFORD — Members of the new citizens’ activist group, Save Rumford, ran afoul of state law and town officials on Wednesday while protesting the proposed municipal budget outside Town Hall. The morning’s peaceful leafleting and picketing effort by the group, which supports a vote against the town budget, came to an abrupt halt when Town […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Maine lawmakers consider $1.1 billion transportation budget
AUGUSTA — A $1.1 billion budget to pay for Maine’s highways and other transportation expenses has been presented to lawmakers. The Portland Press Herald (http://bit.ly/10G5my4 ) says Transportation Commissioner David Bernhardt presented the budget to lawmakers on Tuesday. Bernhardt says his proposed budget would eliminate 56.5 vacant positions from the department, cap state costs for […]
Posted inLewiston-Auburn
Lewiston voters approve school budget
With only 625 people voting, the budget passed 346 to 276, according to unofficial returns late Tuesday, said City Clerk Kathy Montejo. The voter turnout was 2.5 percent, or 625 out of 24,000 registered voters. Three ballots cast could not be counted, Montejo said. Two ballots were blank, and one was incorrectly filled in, she said. […]
Posted inFranklin, The Franklin Journal
RSU 9 board sets voting dates on budgets
FARMINGTON — RSU 9 directors voted Tuesday night to hold a districtwide budget vote on a proposed $29.74 million vote at 7 p.m. Thursday, June 6, at Mt. Blue High School. They also voted to hold a referendum validation vote in each of the 10 district towns on Tuesday, June 11. The times will vary […]