Brooksville voters dig deep for Betsy’s Cove dredging project

Town meeting voters approve school and municipal budgets. Transfer station fees remain steady for the year at $175k.

Voters hold up their lime green voting cards at town meeting on March 3. Photo by John Epstein.

March 4, 2026

By John Epstein

On yet another snowy Maine winter night, Brooksville residents gathered to participate in the nuts and bolts of New England-style democracy–the annual town meeting.

Moderator Bob Vaughan called the meeting to order just after 7 p.m., moving through 91 articles with a genial demeanor and steady pace.

School budget is readily approved

The school’s budget, usually the largest expenditure of most Maine towns, was at the top of the list. Ten warrant items recommended by Brooksville’s school committee comprised the budget. All were readily approved with little or no discussion.

The largest school item sought $1,098,191 to fund the public education of the town’s children from pre-K through high school. The committee also recommended an expenditure of $532,857 for special education. In total, the committee recommended that the town approve $2,433,806 in expenditures. Because this amount exceeded the state’s “allocation model” by $983,274, state law required the town to approve that excess amount by a written ballot, which it did by a nearly unanimous vote.

Municipal budget items

Voters dealt with a range of articles involving the operation of the town, such as salaries for town officers, insurance premiums, town building maintenance, and emergency services support. Most of these articles were approved with little discussion, with the exception of road repairs–some believed the $100,000 allotment was insufficient.

“If we need additional funds, we’ll hold a special meeting,” said John Gray, chair of the select board.

Surprisingly, Gray pointed out that the amount allotted for fees at the Blue Hill/Surry Transfer Station–$175,000–had not increased from the prior year. This has not been the case for other towns on the Blue Hill Peninsula.

Betsy’s Cove project

After moderating a series of warrant articles that involved small funding grants to local charities and not-for-profits, Vaughan turned to Mark Shaughnessy, Brooksville’s harbor master, to present the final three municipal warrants to fund a project to dredge Betsy’s Cove in Buck’s Harbor and then rebuild the town landing pier and boat ramp. Voters were also asked to authorize a $500,000 loan to fund the project.    

“This project has been a long time in the making,” said Shaughnessy, whose power point presentation included engineers’ drawings of the project. “It will provide Brooksville, which has 50 miles of coastline, with public all-tide access.”

Shaughnessy referred to a study by the Army Corps of Engineers that shows how the local lobster fishery would benefit financially from better access to the water. Shaughnessy also said that the enhanced harbor would attract recreational boaters, provide a critical docking location for emergencies, and likely help local businesses.

The sticking point for some was the possibility that the town would have to pay back a $500,000 loan. Shaughnessy explained that Brooksville’s simple commitment to obtain a loan would make the town eligible to apply for federal and state grants funds available to towns in distressed parts of Maine, such as Brooksville.  However, a loan authorization didn’t necessarily require the town to actually borrow the money, he added. 

“What’s the debt load going to be if there’s a worst-case scenario and we have to borrow the money?” one voter asked. Shaughnessy said interest rates on loans to municipalities are 3 percent.

“If we don’t do it now, it’ll just cost more later,” said another man, to laughter.

Vaughan asked people to raise their lime green cards issued at voter check-in to signal if they supported the three dredging project warrants. All three were overwhelmingly approved.

The meeting adjourned at 9:15 p.m. Several people stopped to shake Shaughnessy’s hand before stepping out into the night, where three inches of fresh snow covered the ground.