Public Budget Hearing and Joint Board Meeting

Please join us for the Fiscal Year 2021 Public Budget Hearing and Joint Select Board and Budget Committee Meeting!

The coronavirus emergency is requiring us to change how to hold public hearings to be considerate of everyone’s health. We have been given guidance and authority to hold modified meetings online. Our goal on Thursday, March 26 at 6:30 PM will be to hold our budget meeting & hearing with the widest possible scope of public input and broadest transparency possible.

Here’s how it will work:

• The meeting & hearing will be broadcast, as usual, on cable channel  1301.
• The public may also listen to the meeting by calling (646) 876-9923 or watch the meeting online at https://maine.zoom.us/j/605153705.
• The meeting & hearing room be closed to public with just Select Board Chair, Budget Committee Chair, and Town Manager physically in attendance.
• Board and Committee members will attend via Zoom and will have the ability to interact with the Chairs, Manager, and each other as generally done at meetings.
• The public may make comments or ask questions by calling 685-1813. The Chair will announce when phone calls are accepted at several different points during the hearing. Reasonable comment time limits will be applied as if at an in-person hearing and will be accepted from Readfield residents giving their name as done at public meetings.
• The Select Board will suspend its policy of not taking comments in writing and such comments may be made using an online form at https://www.readfieldmaine.org/select-board/webforms/public-meeting-and-hearing-comment-form through noon on March 26. Comments will not be read out at the hearing but forwarded to Board and Committee members before the hearing and later published as a public document. Written comments may not be anonymous and are restricted to Readfield residents.

We hope this approach will allow good access for public interaction. We will make every attempt to be as open and transparent as we are able. Thank you.