A crowd of about 250 Harpswell residents approved a wide-ranging slate of local issues at their annual Town Meeting on Saturday, including updates to four local ordinances and the new comprehensive plan.
About 50 questions, or articles, were approved during the meeting at Harpswell Community School, which lasted just over an hour. A handful of other items will be decided by secret ballot, including the election of a Select Board member and two school board members, funding for Curtis Memorial Library in Brunswick, and a plan to improve public access to a state-owned parcel at Clark Cove. Voting for those items will close at 5 p.m.
Residents approved every article presented at the meeting by an overwhelming majority. Most questions pertained to the town’s 2026 budget, which increased by 4.5% from the previous year. The town’s budget for this year is $8,185,386, which is $356,909 more than the 2025 figure.
In addition to funding for town projects, departments and staff, this year’s budget includes an additional $177,000 in debt service payments for a new boat launch under construction at George J. Mitchell Field and $300,000 to be applied toward replacing or renovating the main building at Harpswell’s A. Dennis Moore Recycling Center and Transfer Station.
Harpswell is planning major improvements to the Recycling Center, either through renovations or a complete teardown and rebuild. The estimated cost to renovate the building has risen to nearly $1.8 million — double a preliminary estimate from a year earlier — and the town’s engineering firm now says it would be cheaper to demolish the center and build a new metal building for just under $1.5 million.
Attendees also approved a lease agreement between the town and David and Patricia Moody for the use of an existing commercial wharf operated by David Moody on town-owned property at the end of Wood Landing Road, off Lookout Point Road.
David Moody has operated the wharf for decades under a 25-year lease with the town. The new lease was written to last as long as the Moodys live, and it adds a new restriction that the property can only be used for commercial marine purposes.
“David’s life and financial security is tied up in this lease,” said John Loyd. Loyd, a Harpswell attorney, moderated the meeting, but moved to the floor to speak about the lease as an audience member.
The first item up for a vote asked residents to endorse minor amendments to a new comprehensive plan approved by voters in November. The state required the changes before it would deem the plan complete and consistent with the Maine Growth Management Act.
Allan “Al” LeGrow, who led the town’s Comprehensive Plan Task Force, explained the proposed changes to residents just prior to the vote and urged their approval. “It’s taken 4 1/2 years to put this together,” he said about the plan.
Voters approved four proposed ordinance amendments related to land use, environmental regulation, site plan review and floodplain management. The articles included revisions to administrative appeals under Harpswell’s Basic Land Use Ordinance, a clarified definition of freshwater wetlands aligned with federal standards, and updated rules for minor changes to approved site plans reviewed by a staff committee.
Voters also approved changes allowing small fishing sheds to be placed seaward of the mean high tide in certain cases, provided they receive Planning Board approval and meet safety and flood-protection requirements.
Town Planner Margaret McIntire previously described the amendments as “housekeeping items” intended to make the ordinances clearer and more consistent with state and federal language without substantively changing their effect.
The long list of budget items approved by voters includes an across-the-board, 2.8% cost-of-living increase for town staff. General government spending, which includes staff salaries, will increase by 5.5% to roughly $2.2 million under the approved budget.
Harpswell recently hired a consultant to evaluate whether town wages and benefits are competitive with other communities. As a result, some employees will receive raises on top of the 2.8%. Town Administrator Kristi Eiane has said those roles were found to have been earning less than 80% of what other nearby towns pay.
