Dedication
Wayne Marshall and Joseph Slocum
This year, Mayor Sanders and members of the Belfast City Council, are pleased to dedicate the City of Belfast
Annual Report to two men who have given years of service to the betterment of our community and its citizens;
Wayne Marshall, Director of Code and Planning from 1998 to September 2020, and Joe Slocum, City Manager from
2007 to March 2020.
Citing Wayne Marshall’s significant contribution to the betterment of Belfast is certainly accurate of Wayne’s work
over the past 22 years, but it is not enough. The level that Wayne cares about the Department of Code and
Planning, the people in this community, and the function and purpose of local government is admirable. Nor would
Belfast be the Belfast we know and love today without Wayne’s ability to play the long game. He has been a
constant in our City through many changes and at the very center of most. Wayne has served as a mentor and
friend to many members of staff and elected City officials over the years.
Wayne will leave behind a legacy that is not just seen along our streets and waterfront but also in those that follow
him. Our incoming Director of Code and Planning and current Code Enforcement Officer Bub Fournier explains,
“Wayne’s expertise and understanding of the seams between overlapping issues has been a great resource that will
be hard to do without. His approach has always been full comprehension and he has never been swayed by easy
solutions or deterred by long hours of doing things correctly. His sense of humor and wit will echo in our
department for many years after he retires.”
Joe Slocum believed that working in government was his civic duty and his opportunity to give back to a community
that he truly believed in and cared about. He was honored to be part of the daily contributions and achievements
that the City’s dedicated staff, volunteers and community worked so hard for, and it showed. Whether it was the
complicated Harbor Walk, the rebuilding of the pedestrian Belfast Armistice Bridge, the new Public Works facility,
the immensely complicated Rail Trail, supporting energy savings initiative, or negotiating the complexities of the
Front Street Shipyard Joe brought a careful and dynamic energy to moving the issues forward.
In his last Manager’s Report, Joe explained “this community is not an accident. It is the deliberate product of a
diverse culture that is unrelenting in its common love of everything that is here. In spite of many attempts, Belfast
cannot be wrapped up into some summary brand. We are blessed by being as much as we are, by who we are, as
we are, by who we are not. Our diversity is our special asset. It encourages and respects every individual's desire to
be themselves. There is such deep warmth here. It welcomes, shares, celebrates and outwardly displays great
common pride.”
Wayne Marshall and Joe Slocum have helped foster a community that we all are proud to call home. And for that
we will be forever thankful.
1
2 CITY OF BELFAST ANNUAL REPORT 2020
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Dedication Message from the Mayor 1 Auditor’s Report 39-41
Table of Contents 2 Waldo County Sheriff’s Department 42-45 Directory of Information 3 United States Senators,
Susan Collins and Angus King 46-47 Mayor/ City Council / 4 State Representative, Janice Dodge 48 Department Heads
State Senator, Erin Herbig 49
Committee Members 5-7 Congressman, Jared Golden 50
Reports: Unpaid Real Estate Taxes & Liens 51-53
City Manager 8 Notes 54-55
Municipal Airport 9-10
City Assessor 11-12
Cemetery Trustees 13
City Clerk 14 Code and Planning Department 15-16
Economic Development Department 17-19
Finance Department 19-20
Fire Department & Ambulance Department 21-22
General Assistance 23 Harbor Department 24 Belfast Free Library 25-26
Parks & Recreation 27 Police Department 28-30
Public Works 31-32
Tax Office 33
Transfer Station / Recycling 34-36
Belfast TV 37
Wastewater Treatment Facility 38
3 CITY OF BELFAST ANNUAL REPORT 2020
CITY OF BELFAST DIRECTORY OF INFORMATION
EMERGENCY Fire & Ambulance 911
EMERGENCY Police 911
Non-Emergency Fire & Ambulance Departments---338-3362-------------------------------------
Non-Emergency Police Department-------------------338-2420-------------------------------------
Information regarding all aspects of the City can be found on the web-site:
www.cityofbelfast.org
City Hall---------------------------------------------------338-3370-----------------www.cityofbelfast.org
City Manager--------------------------------------338-3370-----x110-----citymanager@cityofbelfast.org
Treasurer’s Office--------------------------------338-3370---x [emailprotected]
Tax Office-----------------------------------------338-3370---x [emailprotected]
Clerk’s Office-------------------------------------338-3370---x [emailprotected]
Assessor’s Office---------------------------------338-3370---x [emailprotected]
Planning / Code Office--------------------------338-3370--x [emailprotected]
Parks & Recreation-------------------------------338-3370--x [emailprotected]
Park Pool-------------------------------------------338-1661----------------------------------------------------
Harbor Master-------------------------------------338-1142------------- [emailprotected]
Public Works--------------------------------------338-2375-------------- [emailprotected]
Wastewater Treatment Facility-----------------338-1744---------------wwtp@cityofbelfast.org
Transfer & Recycling Station-------------------338-1817---------------transferstation@cityofbelfast.org
Animal Control Officer---------------------------------- 338-2420---------------------------------------------
Belfast Cable TV ---------------------------------323-2430---------------beltv@cityofbelfast.org
Belfast Free Library------------------------------338-3884---------------info@belfastlibrary.org
Cemetery-------------------------------------------338-2264----------------cemetery@cityofbelfast.org
Belfast Municipal Airport-----------------------338-4736----------------airport2@cityofbelfast.org
Boat House Rental--------------------------------338-3370—x 127----- [emailprotected]
mailto:[emailprotected]
4 CITY OF BELFAST ANNUAL REPORT 2020
Mayor and City Council
Councilors and Mayor may be contacted through email or by message to City Hall at 338 3370 ext 110.
TERM
EXP.
Mayor Eric Sanders . [emailprotected] Nov.
2021
Ward 1 Councilor Mary Mortier [emailprotected] Nov.
2020
Ward 2 Councilor Neal Harkness [emailprotected] Nov.
2020
Ward 3 Councilor Brenda Bonneville [emailprotected] Nov.
2021
Ward 4 Councilor Mike Hurley [emailprotected] Nov.
2021
Ward 5 Councilor Paul Dean [emailprotected] Nov.
2020
City Department Heads All may be contacted through email or by message to City Hall at 338 3370
EXT.
City Manager Erin Herbig [emailprotected] 110
Director of Code & Planning Wayne Marshall [emailprotected] 125
City Treasurer Theresa Butler [emailprotected] 111
City Assessor Brent Martin [emailprotected] 117
City Clerk Amy Flood [emailprotected] 114
Tax Collector [emailprotected] 132
Director of Parks & Recreation Norm Poirier [emailprotected] 127
General Assistance Administrator Jodie Stout [emailprotected] 120
Facilities & Maintenance Norman Gilmore, III [emailprotected] 113
Chief of Police Gerry Lincoln [emailprotected] 338-2420
Fire Chief / Ambulance Director James Richards [emailprotected] 338-3362
Director of Public Works Robert Richards [emailprotected] 338-2375
Director of Library Steve Norman [emailprotected] 338-3884
Harbor Master Kathy Pickering [emailprotected] 338-1142
Cemetery Superintendent Steve Boguen [emailprotected] 338-2264
Wastewater Superintendent Jon Carman [emailprotected] 338-1744
Transfer & Recycling Mike McFadden [emailprotected] 338-1817
Station Manager
mailto:[emailprotected]
mailto:[emailprotected]
mailto:[emailprotected]
mailto:[emailprotected]
mailto:[emailprotected]
mailto:[emailprotected]
mailto:[emailprotected]
mailto:[emailprotected]
mailto:[emailprotected]
mailto:[emailprotected]
mailto:[emailprotected]
mailto:[emailprotected]
mailto:[emailprotected]
mailto:[emailprotected]
mailto:[emailprotected]
mailto:[emailprotected]
mailto:[emailprotected]
mailto:[emailprotected]
mailto:[emailprotected]
mailto:[emailprotected]
mailto:[emailprotected]
mailto:[emailprotected]
5 CITY OF BELFAST ANNUAL REPORT 2020
CITY of BELFAST COMMITTEES
Airport Advisory Committee - 7 Members - 3 Year Terms
Chair: William Ryan Exp. 2022 Duke Tomlin Exp. 2022 Kenn Ortmann Exp. 2021
Secretary: R. Truxes Exp. 2020 Lynn Karlin Exp. 2021 John Downs Exp. 2020
Dave Aldrich Exp. 2020
Board of Assessment Review - 4 Members & 1 Alternate - 3 Year Terms
Chair: Biff Atlass Exp. 2022 Member: Roy Rodgers Exp. 2022
Member: David Bond Exp. 2021 Member: Mary Dutch Exp. 2021
Alt.: Joel T. Lee Exp. 2022
Broadband Committee - Unlimited Members - 2 Year Terms
Chair: Zafra Whitcomb Exp. 2021 Secretary: Doug Chamberlain Exp. 20201
Member: Charity Leschinski Exp. 2022 Member: Joellen Easton Gaseidnes Exp. 2020
Member: John Arrison Exp. 2021 Councilor: Mary Mortier
Member: Thomas Kittredge
Cemetery Trustees - 4 Members & 1 Alternate - 3 Year Terms
Chair: Joyce Fenner Exp. 2020 Member: Joanna Curtis Exp. 2021
Secretary: Megan Pinette Exp. 2022 Member: Paul Hamilton Exp. 2020
Alt. Amanda Munson Exp. 2020
Climate Committee - 8-10 Members (including 2 Council Members) - 1 Year Term
Chair: Jonathan Beal Exp.2020 Vice-Chair: Sharon Besso Exp.2021
Secretary: Barbara Bell Exp. 2021 Beverly Roxby Exp. 2021
Dr, Joe Duggan Exp. 2021 Henry Reisner Exp.2020
Mayor Eric Sanders Exp. 2021
Comprehensive Plan Committee - 1 Member per Ward + 2 At-Large Members
- Term - Upon Completion of Plan
Ward 1 Member: Jill Goodwin Ward 2 Member: Scott Kelley
Ward 3 Member: Tammy Lacher Scully Ward 4 Member: Syrena T. Gatewood
Ward 5 Member: Peter Brunette #1 At-large Member: John J. Carrick III#2 At-large Member:
Anne Saggese
6 CITY OF BELFAST ANNUAL REPORT 2020
CITY of BELFAST COMMITTEES
Energy Committee - 6 Members - Staggered Terms
3 year term 2 year term
Andrew Carpenter Exp.2020 Eric Sanders Exp.2020
Jonathan Fulford Exp.2020 Michael Hurley Exp.2020
Matt O'Malia Exp.2020 Sadie Lloyd Exp.2020
Harbor Advisory Committee - 6 Members - 2 Year Terms
Member: John B. Turner Exp. 2021 Member: Daniel Miller Exp. 2021
Member: Joanne Moesswilde Exp. 2021 Member: Robert Winslow Exp. 2020
Member: Gerald Brand Exp. 2020 Alt: Andrew Peters Exp. 2020
In Town Design Review Committee - 12 Members Presently - No Terms
Martha Block Tangie Abercrombie
Mary Dutch Gianne Conard
Gail Savitz Tangie Abercombie
Richard O’Connor Roy Rodgers
Dominic Mercadante Judy Stein
James H. Duff Barry Brindle
Library Board of Trustees - 5 Members - All 3 Year Terms
President: Kay Zegel Exp. 2020 Vice President: Cynthia Martell Exp. 2021
Treasurer: Robert Adler Exp. 2022 Secretary: Robin Kruger Exp. 2020
Member: Syrena Gatewood Exp. 2021
Parks & Recreation Commission - 7 Members - 1 Alternate - 3 Year Terms
Chair: Larry Theye Exp. 2022 Secretary: Heather Hay-Brackett Exp. 2020
Member: Carol Good Exp. 2020 Member: Catherine Gleeson Exp. 2022
Member: Aynne Ames Exp. 2021 Member: Kali Litrides Exp. 2021
Member: Rafe Blood Exp. 2022 Alt. Member: Amanda Cunningham Exp. 2021
7 CITY OF BELFAST ANNUAL REPORT 2020
CITY of BELFAST COMMITTEES
Pedestrian, Biking & Hiking Committee - 5 Members – 1&2 Year Terms
Chair: Jim Merkel Exp. 2020 Secretary: Bill Smith Exp. 2020
Member: Christopher Gardner Exp. 2020 Member: Glenn Montgomery Exp. 2020
Member: Zachary Schmesser Exp. 2021 Alt. Member: Tim Freeman Exp. 2020
Planning Board Members - 5 Members - 2 Alternates - 5 Year Terms
Seat #1 Secretary: Richard O'Connor Exp. 2020 Seat #2: Geoffrey Gilchrist Exp. 2020
Seat #3: Hubert Townsend Exp. 2023 Seat # 4: Wayne Corey Exp. 2024
Seat # 5: David Bond Exp. 2020 Alt 1: Stephen Ryan Exp. 2021
Alt 2: Kimberly "Daisy" Beal Exp. 2021
Zoning Board of Appeals - 5 Members - 1 Alternate - 3 Year Terms
Chair: Peter Nessin Exp. 2020 Member: Roger Pickering Exp. 2022
Member: Michael Nickerson Exp. 2020 Member: Dana Keene Exp. 2022
Member: Douglas Smith Exp. 2022 Alternate: Vacancy Exp.
8 CITY OF BELFAST ANNUAL REPORT 2020
CITY OF BELFAST
131 Church Street Belfast, Maine 04915
Erin Herbig E-mail: [emailprotected]
City Manager Tel: (207) 338-3370 ext. 110
Like every citizen of Belfast, I never imagined the current state our community is in when I entered my new role as City
Manager on March 9, 2020, more than halfway through the fiscal year. Within my first week on the job, the State of
Maine responded and adjusted operations due to a global pandemic and in coordination with our Governor’s mandates,
the City of Belfast did the same.
At the simplest level, the City Manager’s office is responsible for the overall operation and management of all municipal
departments and employees, as well as the implementation of all policy decisions made by the City Council. With the
impacts of COVID-19 on our community, our economy and our bottom-line, we have been faced with challenges that the
City of Belfast has never seen before.
Of this I am sure: The City of Belfast will get through this and we will get through this together. I have already seen
proof of this as we finished out Fiscal Year 2019-2020 and as we look ahead. A great deal of work has been
accomplished by the City thanks to our experienced staff and clear direction from our dedicated Mayor and Councilors to
respond to the pandemic. A few examples of this are:
The Belfast Keep the Faith Fund Grocery Voucher was created to provide relief to Belfast residents who have
been laid off or experienced reduced work hours and small businesses located in Belfast that have been forced to
close or had a reduction in revenue beyond 25% due to COVID-19.
The Belfast Keep the Faith Small Business Grant Program was created to provide relief to businesses located in
Belfast that have had to close or experienced a significant reduction in business since the beginning of the
COVID-19 pandemic.
The City of Belfast made donations to our Long-Term Care Facilities, Tall Pines and Harbor Hill, to support their
workforce during the continuing health crisis.
“Curbside Belfast” was created to provide businesses the ability to apply for a temporary permit, allowing
restaurants and retailers to utilize city parking spaces in front of their businesses. We have had 13 downtown
businesses utilize this opportunity that has helped keep our downtown vibrant and bustling during a very
difficult time.
This pandemic will continue to present many challenges that remain unknown. What I do know is that our Mayor and
Council have always been innovative, compassionate and will lead our community through this challenging time. I know
that City of Belfast employees are resourceful and mindful of how to stretch each dollar to provide services to our
community on a very lean budget because we understand the impact our spending has on our community. I know our
community is resilient and that we can and will get through this together.
Thank you for the opportunity to serve the City of Belfast as City Manager. I am honored to work on behalf of my
hometown and the people that live here every day. If I can be of any assistance to you, please do not hesitate to contact
me. I wish you all the very best in the coming year.
9 CITY OF BELFAST ANNUAL REPORT 2020
Annual Report
July 1, 2019-June 30 2020
Belfast Municipal Airport (KBST) is a 218-acre general aviation airport with a 4,000-foot runway, which caters to corporate jets and small aircraft; scheduled commercial service does not exist at this airport. The airport was built in the 1940’s, and in its current runway configuration (an orientation of 150°/330°) since the 1960’s.
The most accurate source of information regarding the number of operations currently at the airport is the General Aviation Recording Device (GARD) system, which records and saves all radio transmissions made at/near the airport. The GARD system showed FY20 operations averaged approximately 267 per month-there were some months with incorrect readings so this is an estimate. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) also develops a Terminal Area Forecast which estimates the number of annual operations at non-towered KBST as 10,000. It is the opinion of the Airport Manager that the number of actual operations at the airport falls somewhere between the FAA and the GARD numbers. Known regular users of the airport include: athenahealth, LifeFlight, Front Street Shipyard clients, and HNP AIR LLC.
The airport currently generates revenue three ways: 1) ground leases to private individuals; 2) property taxes on aircraft hangars; and 3) leases of City-owned buildings. The City receives approximately $26,600 per year from 24 ground leases, approximately $10,500 in property taxes from 24 hangars, and $4,200 per year from the leasing of the City-owned Lowe Hangar and a T-hangar. KBST currently has approximately 20 aircraft based here (generally the airport where it spends the most time).
The City of Belfast receives an annual allocation of entitlement funds from both the FAA ($150,000.00) and the Maine Department of Transportation (MDOT) ($8,333.33); these funds can be banked for up to 4 years. These funds can be used to pay for 95% of the costs of an FAA-approved project; the remaining 5% of the project costs are covered by the City of Belfast. Certain projects, like the recent parallel taxiway project, may also qualify for additional discretionary FAA funding. The FAA prioritizes projects that improve airport safety. Smaller airport capital projects and maintenance-type projects, however, are often funded 100% by the City. One major airport project, the recent parallel taxiway project, was substantially completed during FY20. A major change in management was implemented in November 2019 when responsibility for airport operations was moved from Economic Development Director Thomas Kittredge to Co-Managers Scott Story and Kenn Ortmann, and later to just Kenn Ortmann.
10 CITY OF BELFAST ANNUAL REPORT 2020
Ongoing challenges for the airport include: 1) high ground lease rates, both when compared to other Maine airports and to other United States airports; 2) a small number of sites where commercial aviation activity is allowed but which also do not possess high development costs; 3) a lack of accessible, competitively-priced aviation fuel; and, 4) limited options for creating new additional revenue streams.
Belfast Municipal Airport has, and will to continue to be, an asset to Belfast and the surrounding region, providing transportation, economic, health-care, educational, and recreational benefits. The City should continue to improve the airport and make it more viable, through making safety improvements, increasing capabilities and facilities, generating more revenue, and maximizing funding from the FAA and MDOT.
Respectfully offered: Kenneth Ortmann, Airport Manager June 5, 2020
11 CITY OF BELFAST ANNUAL REPORT 2020
May 14, 2020
Memo: Annual Report Preliminary Content
To: Theresa Butler, Treasurer
From: Brent Martin, City Assessor
Assessing activity is busier than ever and the timing of COVID-19’s shutdown brings attention to two
important components driving the Assessing Office – Tax Day and the Certified Ratio. Tax Day defines the
day the assessment values are measured in relation to the market value of properties and the Certified Ratio
is median percentage these measurements. If assessments are within 10% of market value, the taxpayers
may receive 100% of the exemptions. If market values increase, as they have, and assessed values do not
track those increases, the tax payers may not claim 100% of the tax savings of the exemptions.
Additionally, if assessed values fall below 90% of market value, it is likely that assessments may not be
fairly applied throughout the City. This is the basis for why we have been equalizing over the past few
years.
This year presents complex issues. The data analyzed by the Assessing Office revolves around the status of
property and the markets as of April 1st. When COVID-19 froze the City, State, Country and World, the
Assessing Office remained faced with having to compare assessed values to rising sale prices leading up to
the market standstill in place as of April 1st. Since we were at approximately 91% of market value last year,
this meant our assessed values were beginning to fall below 90%, suggesting taxpayers may lose part of
their exemptions, unless we adjust the assessments upward after figuring out why they are not reflecting
market values in certain parts of the City.
This effectively pushes us to continue equalizing throughout the City for this year. As we finalize
additional sales studies for 2020, if we find it necessary, we may be making small adjustments in home and
garage values for residential properties throughout all of Belfast. This will likely be reflected as a few
dollars in taxable value per square foot of home or garage, which would then be multiplied by the mill rate,
which is not yet determined. We will know this and be reporting on it in the next couple of weeks. Despite
COVID-19, we still must maintain fair assessments as part of the multi-year equalization process that has
been improving our data.
We know we are not in a vacuum. We will be weighing the prospective recovery status of the economy and
real estate markets as we set values for commitment and will seek to set assessments with as low an
influence as we can to still maintain our ratio at 100%. This will allow for the maximum exemption
benefits while still improving the fairness of the assessments as verified by the State. Keep in mind that
adjustments to taxpayer valuations are meant to increase fairness between and among property owners.
As stated in the tax bill letter in 2019, the City’s total valuation base had grown $12 million to $792 million
from 2018 to 2019 (up from $733 million since 2015), mostly the result of increases in commercial real
City of Belfast Office of the Assessor & Addressing Office
131 Church Street
Belfast, Maine 04915
Phone: (207) 338-3160, Ext 22
Email: [emailprotected]
12 CITY OF BELFAST ANNUAL REPORT 2020
property, business equipment and residential permit activity, all while absorbing nearly $30 million in
valuation losses attributable to STAG (the vacant Bank of America buildings). Our data quality has
improved greatly since 2015, making assessed values more reliable. The City kept the mill rate within 6%
of 2015 at 22.9 – up less than 1% from 2018, and the City is trying hard to do the same again for 2020,
while attaining even better assessment data.
Though the valuation changes are not completed as of May 14, 2020, they are expected to be completed
about one to two months earlier than the prior commitment dates over the past ten years, while leaving the
due dates the same. This would allow earlier payment of taxes to improve cash flow to the City in a strange
budget year, while not affecting those on auto-pay. Additionally, this allows the Assessing Office to
immediately embark on tightening next year’s data, including office maintenance, photos, and some
digitizing of additional data (such as re-scanning physical cards). The Assessing Office will be faced with
updating TRIO software this year and the process is known to be cumbersome. This results in some
additional labor costs that are sought for 2020-2021.
As of today, we have 4562 accounts, comprised of 3991 real property and 571 personal property accounts,
which is an increase of over 250 since 2013. Historically, 275 deeds were processed yearly by my
predecessor. We are processing up to 40% more on a yearly basis. The level of complexity of the site
descriptions, split parcel descriptions, and ownership issues in the deed conveyances has increased greatly,
resulting in greater time to reconcile and process real estate transfers.
This past 10 months of operations within our budget has been tight. The State quickly implemented a Solar
and Wind Equipment Exemption, which required our office to track down solar installations, rework the
software in a manner not done before, and then share this with municipalities across the state. We have had
to shift our operations from office to remote-based and then back, prudently maintaining remote access and
parallel data. We have shifted our field data gathering process to a tethered tag-team approach between
myself and the Lister, Avis Winchester, where we have been able to complete exterior inspections in
equalizing Maps 1 through 5 with over 1146 accounts where 950 accounts had both up or down land and
condition-related value adjustments. We should also be completing 146 additional accounts in Maps 14, 15,
and 16 by commitment. This process will be labor-intensive as it spills over into this fall.
The Assessing Office’s budget remains reasonable in light of the continuing success with our internal
equalization efforts. The budget reflects a more intensive labor/wages focus as we get closer to completing
multiple years of equalization, assuming the market remains somewhat range-bound and doesn’t continue
upward from where it left off. The Assessing Office constantly strives to make assessed values fair and
equitable. Please contact us if concerned with any changes in valuation. We will make sure all eligible
exemptions are applied on a timely basis. For business owners, we can walk through the various state filing
requirements and explain which exemptions are available. We appreciate emails or phone numbers for our
records as we constantly are reaching out to property owners with questions or suggestions.
As always, I am honored to work for the people of Belfast.
Brent Martin, CMA-3, CRA
City Assessor
13 CITY OF BELFAST ANNUAL REPORT 2020
City of Belfast Cemetery Department
Annual Report-2019
Cemetery Directors: Joyce Fenner Megan Pinette
Paul Hamilton Joanna Curtis
Amanda Munson, Alt.
The Cemetery Department is both privately and publicly funded and has the responsibility of maintaining
all seven Cemeteries located in Belfast. They are as follows
Grove Cemetery Belmont Avenue
East Belfast Cemetery Rt 1 East Belfast
South Belfast Cemetery Woods Road
North Belfast Cemetery Doak Road
West Belfast Cemetery Pitcher Road
City Point Cemetery Oak Hill Road
Piper Cemetery Back Belmont Road.
We perform all the regular maintenance and will complete those tasks requested of us for all lot owners.
We performed a complete mowing on all Cemeteries approximately 20 times last summer. This includes
trimming around 21,000 or so stones, trees and roadways. We also service all funeral arrangements in the
grounds. In 2019 we cared for 9 traditional burials and 41cremation burials. Most all of these services
required our Chapel Tent and seating options for a more comforting experience. As of October 2012, we
have made the Chapel open to the public for services and other functions. The agreed upon fee for the
rental is $150.00 and arrangements can be made through the Superintendent.
The members of the Belfast Garden Club have to be thanked for their diligence in weeding and watering
the flower gardens in the Chapel area again this year. Volunteers and donations are always welcomed!!!
The process of restoration of the Old Section of Grove Cemetery is complete. This was a three year project
and many visitors have remarked on the condition of these older stones. We are very pleased with the
outcome.
The Cemetery Department still has an interactive web based database for interested persons to search our
records for genealogy purposes. Photos of monuments and stones are being transferred to this site as they
are received. The public may access this database by finding the Cemetery link on the City of Belfast
Website. Any omissions or errors can be reported also.
The Cemeteries are open to traffic from April to December depending on the weather and we have
employees available to assist from May to November. Our hours are 7:00 to 3:30, Monday thru Friday.
Others by appointment also.
Please feel free to contact me for any information on the Belfast Cemeteries. I can be reached at 338-2264
or at [emailprotected].
Steve Boguen, Cemetery Supt.
mailto:[emailprotected]
14 CITY OF BELFAST ANNUAL REPORT 2020
City Clerk Annual Report
As we say hello to 2020 we reflect on the passing of 2019.
It’s always a pleasure serving the citizens of Belfast. We provide general information, by phone, mail, email and in
person to the Citizens of Belfast and Visitors alike, as well as City Council and other City Employees. We provide
information about the services offered by the different city departments as well as general information about our
community. So if you have questions please don’t hesitate to contact us; if we can’t answer your question we will help
you find someone who can.
The City Clerk's office is the keeper of the records of the city. We processes birth, death and marriage records, burial
permits, dog licenses, hunting & fishing licenses as well as geneology requests. We process all fees and receivables
for the city, such as code department permit fees, ambulance department, cemetery department receipts, transfer station
receipts, police department receipts and harbor department receipts. We issue business licenses and permits such as
taxi cab license, liquor licenses, special amusem*nt, catering, victualer (food service), coin operated machine licenses
and lunch wagon licenses. We help provide prospective businesses with the information on how to obtain their state
licenses as well as their local licenses required to start a new business or expand their current operation. If you’re
thinking of starting a business in Belfast or have any questions about our services we provide, please give us a call.
The City Clerk’s office now cross trains for better customer service with our Tax Collector’s department as well. This
includes tax payments, sewer payments, hanger tax payments, registrations: vehicles, trailers, campers, RV’s, ATV’s,
snowmobiles and boats. This has proven to be very efficient for meeting customer’s needs in a timely manner.
The City Clerk’s office administers all elections, Federal, State and Local. If you have any questions about registering
to vote or anything elections related, please feel free to contact us at 207-338-3370 or via email at
[emailprotected].
The City Clerks Office is here for you; stop by and see us sometime.
City Statistics: Vital Statistics 2018 2019 2018 2019
Births 155 158 Certificates Issued: 573 668
Deaths 164 199 Certificates Issued: 676 704
Marriages 95 70 Certificates Issued: 159 141
Dogs 2018 2019
Licenses Issued: 1082 1114
IF&W Fishing & Hunting Licenses Issued 2018 2019
Fishing Licenses 318 295
Hunting Licenses 242 219
Voter Information as of 12/31/2019
Total registered voters 5512 Registered 207 new voters
Democrats 2320 Changed 138 voter registrations
Republicans 1229 Removed 216 voters from our list
Green Independent 234
Un-enrolled (not party) 1729
Thank you for allowing us to serve you. We look forward to another wonderful year in Belfast.
Respectfully submitted,
Amy I. Flood, City Clerk
mailto:[emailprotected]
15 CITY OF BELFAST ANNUAL REPORT 2020
CODE & PLANNING DEPARTMENT
ANNUAL REPORT
JULY 1, 2019 TO JUNE 30, 2020
By Wayne Marshall, Director, Code & Planning
The most recognizable function of the Department is the review and issuance of Building Permits and similar Permits
required by City Ordinances. The Department, through its Code Enforcement Officer, issued the following permits
between July 1, 2019 and June 30, 2020:
Building permits for new single family residences - 11 permits
Building permit for new multifamily construction - 0 permit
Building permits for commercial construction - 7 permits
Other Building Permits - 173 permits
New Mobile Home Permits - 11 permits
Electrical Permits - 194 permits
Plumbing Permits - 123 permits The Code Enforcement Officer conducts inspections associated with all of the above permits.
The number of permits issued for new residential construction have yet to return to levels the City saw prior to the
2007 - 2008 housing recession, however, there appears to be increasing interest compared to 5 years ago. Similar to
most years, the most frequently issued permit was for renovations to existing houses and the construction of
accessory structures, such as sheds, decks and garages.
Department staff regularly provides services to the Belfast Planning Board and Intown Design Review Committee and
occasionally to the Harbor Committee and City Council regarding their respective reviews of projects to ensure
compliance with requirements in the City Code of Ordinances. Clearly, the most significant project reviewed by the
Planning Board and the Department in FY 2020 was the Nordic Aquafarms proposal to develop a land based salmon
aquaculture facility near the lower reservoir of the Little River. This $500 million project would result in the
production of 33,000 metric tons of salmon annually is the largest project proposed in Belfast in many decades.
Nordic Aquafarms submitted its permit applications to the City in June 2019, and concurrently submitted applications
to the State Department of Environmental Protection and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. In the ensuing year, the
Planning Board conducted 12 public hearings on the project and met over 20 times to consider permit requirements.
The 5 City Permit applications remained pending before the Board as the fiscal year came to a close.
Nordic Aquafarms, however, was not the only major project that the Planning Board and Department reviewed in FY
2020. Other major projects included the following:
SunRaise Solar proposal to develop a 4.5 megawatt (20 acre) commercial solar farm on Perkins Road. The
Department and Board, in response to new State initiatives to encourage the development of commercial solar
installations, first developed amendments to City Ordinances to allow commercial solar installations (Ordinance
amendments adopted by City Council in January 2020), and then reviewed and approved the SunRaise Solar Permit
application in February 2020. Construction of this project was slated to begin in the late summer of 2020.
In May, 2020, the Board completed its review and approval of a project proposal by Realty Resources to develop
25 units of affordable rental housing for older adults that will be constructed at 80 Wight Street, and in June, the
Board completed its review of a similar project proposed by Developers Collaborative for a property located at 75
16 CITY OF BELFAST ANNUAL REPORT 2020
Wight Street. The two projects will result in 50 new units of affordable rental housing for older adults, the first
new affordable housing that has been constructed in Belfast in 7+ years.
In October 2019, the City Council, following the review and recommendation of the Belfast Planning Board,
approved a contract rezoning agreement to allow the development of a Tractor Supply Store on Belmont Avenue
across Rte 3 from the Schoodic Drive entrance to Bank of America. Construction of the store started in earnest in
the spring of 2020 and it is scheduled to open in the fall of 2020.
As the fiscal year was drawing to a close, the Planning Board and subsequently the City Council was completing
its review of a contract rezoning agreement with Dan Waldron, WhiteCAP Builders, to renovate and reopen the
Three Tides Restaurant property on the City's waterfront. It was a sad day when this much revered Restaurant
closed, and all were happy to see the proposed expansion and to know that it would again become part of Belfast.
Although the applicant, Paul Overgaag, chose to withdraw his proposal shortly after the COVID pandemic came
to the forefront, the Department notes that it worked closely with the Planning Board and subsequently the City
Council to adopt amendments to the City Downtown Height Ordinance standards that would have created an
opportunity for Mr. Overgaag to construct a multi-use building at the corner of Main and Washington Streets.
The Department often works with the Council and other City Committees on non-Zoning projects, as well as preparing
amendments to the City Code of Ordinances. Some of the more notable projects in FY 2020 are listed below:
City Energy Committee, with the able assistance of Sadie Lloyd Mudge, former City Planner, completed the
conversion of all City street lights to LED lights.
Olver Associates, City Engineer, completed an assessment of how to make much needed energy and operational
improvements to the Wastewater Treatment Plant. This project was initiated and shepherded by the Energy
Committee and managed by Sadie Lloyd Mudge, The Council approved the City making the improvements.
City completed two shore stabilization projects, one at City Park and the second near the eastside of the Armistice
Bridge, to mitigate significant coastal erosion that had occurred, much of which was associated with winter 2018
storms. The Department managed these projects.
City Code of Ordinance amendments that were adopted include: changes to the front setback requirement for 25+
properties in the Residential 1, 2 and 3 zoning districts; amendments to the Route 3 Commercial zoning district for
the area located westerly of Crocker Road; amendments to the Office Park zoning district, particularly the area
located westerly of Crocker Road; and the aforementioned amendments regarding the adoption of solar energy
system standards and the building height standard for a section of the Downtown Commercial zoning district.
FY 2020 also was a year of major change for the Department. Sadie Lloyd Mudge, who served as City Planner for 6+
years, ended her full-time employment with the City in July 2019. In October 2019, Jon Boynton was hired as City
Planner. In May 2020, Wayne Marshall, who has served as the Department Director since December 2019,
announced that he would be retiring from his position, however, he would be remaining with the City to complete
review of the Nordic Aquafarms project.
The Department provides a diverse range of services to residents and property owners in Belfast. All of our staff, Bub
Fournier, Code Enforcement Officer, Jon Boynton, Planner, Erica Nealley, Administrative Assistant, and Wayne
Marshall, Department Director, hope that our collective efforts have served the City well. If you have questions or
comments about the Department, you can call us at 338-3370 x 125, or by email at [emailprotected].
17 CITY OF BELFAST ANNUAL REPORT 2020
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT SUMMARY (FISCAL YEAR 2020-2021)
Mission and Services:
The essential mission of the Economic Development Department is to develop and implement the City’s
economic development plan. This plan contains five strategies: 1) lower the cost of doing business and
remove/prevent obstacles to private investment/business development; 2) bring more people to Belfast
throughout the year, especially during non-summer seasons; 3) improve quality of place; 4) pursue targeted
business attraction; and 5) efficiently connect existing businesses and start-ups with current business
development resources.
The three primary services that this department provides are: 1) infrastructure development; 2) grant
research, writing, and management; and 3) technical assistance to businesses.
Statistics:
While this department does keep extensive and organized notes regarding any interactions and/or projects
with a given business or entrepreneur, the department has not established a system that would be able to
provide a highly-accurate number of the individual businesses and entrepreneurs assisted within a given
year and the amount of time spent with each of those businesses and entrepreneurs. Through doing a
limited review of the departments e-mails, computer file folders, and task lists, one can derive an extremely
conservative number of 350 total businesses and entrepreneurs receiving some level of assistance since the
department’s creation in June of 2010, with up to 20 individual businesses and entrepreneurs receiving
assistance contemporaneously. (If there is a desire to have more accurate information, the department may
need to invest in some type of client relationship management software to more easily and accurately track
interactions.) As each of these businesses and entrepreneurs come to this office with unique needs, nearly
every provision of assistance is custom-tailored, which requires more time and effort to effectively respond.
Provision of assistance to all, or nearly all, of these businesses and entrepreneurs, has to be delivered in
multiple communications (it is not atypical to have dozens of communications over period of several
months, along with multiple face-to-face meetings, conference calls, or tours of potential properties, for an
individual client). This provision of assistance represents a major portion of the department’s time.
While it is not the best barometer of the impact or value of this department, the number and amounts of
grants secured is one of the easiest to measure/quantify. This department is currently
managing/implementing/closing out the following grants: 1) a $1,900,000 U.S. Department of Commerce
Economic Development Administration Public Works Grant, which was awarded in 2014 and was used to
reconstruct and realign, and to upgrade the utilities within, the portion of Front Street between Main and
Pierce Streets; 2) on behalf of Belfast Municipal Airport, a $3,602,725 Federal Aviation Administration
and Maine Department of Transportation Airport Improvement Program Grant, which was awarded in 2018
and was used for the extension of that airport’s parallel taxiway system; 3) a $299,994 U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency Brownfields Assessment Program Grant, which was awarded in 2019 and is being used
to fund environmental assessment work on sites that have commercial redevelopment potential but which
are contaminated or have the perception thereof; 4) a $10,000 Efficiency Maine Trust Level 2 Electric
Vehicle Charging Station Grant which was awarded in 2019 and will be used to construct an electric
vehicle charging station at the City’s parking lot at the intersection of Bridge, Front, and Pierce Streets; and
5) a $3,000 Maine Arts Commission Bicentennial Project Grant, which was awarded in 2020 and will be
used for a series of historic photographic murals to be placed on the exteriors of various buildings in
Belfast. Management of grants/projects is time-consuming; typically, the time spent on the management of
these grants/projects is several multiples of the time that was spent actually applying for them. Since this
department was established in June of 2010, it has played a lead role in securing $9,916,975 in various
grants (representing 89.5% of the $11,070,456 in grants that it has applied for).
18 CITY OF BELFAST ANNUAL REPORT 2020
Challenges: This department continues to face the following 3 major challenges:
1) Increase in demand for services and expectations in the level of service provided.
Since this department’s creation, the number of requests by businesses, particularly startup businesses,
appears to have increased year-over-year (with the exception of the recent COVID-19 pandemic), as
Belfast becomes more visible due to its successes and becomes more aware of the fact that the City can
offer assistance through this department. Requests for direct assistance from businesses and entrepreneurs
currently outstrip available staff time. In the future, if the City does not wish to exclude any businesses or
entrepreneurs, or to not reduce the level of assistance provided, additional staff capacity might be necessary
(whether it be contract, full-time, part-time, or intern).
2) Available funding sources for both the City of Belfast and its businesses.
Another major challenge is continuing to find grant funding sources, both to help the City fund business
and community infrastructure projects, and to also directly assist businesses and entrepreneurs. While many
of the existing well-known funding sources (such as Community Development Block Grants) have seen
their funding reduced year after year, there are still new programs being developed. However, this means
that the universe of potential funding sources is always changing, funding opportunities can be missed if
they are not found in a timely manner (as many of them are offered or for a limited period of time,
sometimes even only once). While the department has expertise in identifying grant opportunities from
both state and federal grants, it does not have much expertise and knowledge regarding the much larger
universe of private foundation grants (which are generally more for non-profits than governmental entities).
Seeking out and identifying potential funding sources can be very time-consuming, because one has to
access multiple sources of information (there does not appear to be one all-inclusive information source),
with some of them still only available in print format. This department is currently making efforts to make
Belfast businesses and property owners more aware of, and easier to access, certain incentive programs that
could be of benefit to them, such as Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credits, New Markets Tax Credits, and
Opportunity Zones. There do exist computer-based grant information resources, but they tend to be costly
(on the order of thousands of dollars per year), and again, there does not appear to be one single all-
encompassing grant information resource.
3) Measuring benefits and impacts on the economy of the City of Belfast.
Finally, measuring this department’s impact on the Belfast economy is also a challenge. Determining the
amount of impact this department has on the success of a given project necessarily relies on assumptions
and is unable to be quantified to a level of absolute certainty. In addition, the City of Belfast does not have
the capacity to generate statistically significant economic statistics on its own, and therefore must rely on
existing economic statistics, many of which only provide data for larger geographic areas instead of data at
the municipal level. Further complicating matters, the City of Belfast has for some time been a significant
net job importer; in 2017 (the most recent year for which data was available), 5,413 people worked in
Belfast but lived outside of that community, compared to only 1,230 people who lived in Belfast but
worked outside of that community. (This may lead to the situation where economic development successes
taking place in Belfast result in little or no change to the incomes or the unemployment rates of Belfast
residents.) Despite this challenge, it is important over the long-term to effectively and as accurately as
possible determine the impact of this department, and communicate that information to both the elected
officials and the residents of Belfast, to best be able to ensure the department’s continued existence and
support.
19 CITY OF BELFAST ANNUAL REPORT 2020
20 CITY OF BELFAST ANNUAL REPORT 2020
21 CITY OF BELFAST ANNUAL REPORT 2020
22 CITY OF BELFAST ANNUAL REPORT 2020
23 CITY OF BELFAST ANNUAL REPORT 2020
24 CITY OF BELFAST ANNUAL REPORT 2020
City of Belfast Harbor Department Annual Report – May 2020 The Harbor Department is divided into four primary functions: Taking care of the City’s slip facilities at Thompson’s
Wharf and the City Landing, Mooring Permitting & Management, Safe Navigation, and Emergency Response. Our
Thompson’s Wharf slip facility is year-round and berths seasonal summer and winter vessels, as well as commercial
vessels including fishermen and charter vessels. The City Landing provides public water access with the most usable
launch ramp in the area, short-term/transient summertime rental berths, space for commercial fishermen and
marine businesses to operate, berthing for larger vessels including the cruise ships, and amenities for visiting
boaters such as fuel, ice, showers and wifi. We also maintain and rent ten transient rental moorings. All mooring
management and navigation is done under the guidance of Federal and State of Maine regulations, and local
ordinance. Emergency response is anything from a dinghy broken loose, vessel broken down, to vessels
sinking/people in the water.
The Harbor Master is full time. The part-time Assistant Harbor Master, Tim Place, is starting his second year, and we
usually hire 4 – 5 part time dock attendants to work over the summer. The Harbor Master and Assistant are trained
for emergency response situations and vessel navigation. The attendants help run the City Landing and provide
assistance to the visiting boaters.
This past year, after several years of planning, the City of Belfast received approval by the Coast Guard for a Special
Anchorage designation which charts our mooring field, designates local uses for the harbor such as vessel
anchoring, and provides necessary navigational aids. We now have two new channel markers to help vessel
operators find the channel if they are unfamiliar with the harbor, are travelling at night, or in adverse weather
conditions. The Harbor Department was also fortunate to be approved this past year for both a Harbor
Management Grant and Small Harbor Improvement Grant which allowed us to build 11 new floats to replace some
of our older floats. The City has over 75 floats in total between our facilities.
Over the past six years or so, the City has completed management plans for most of the harbor, which has helped
greatly with the increase in vessel traffic, public use, and commercial use. The Harbor Committee hopes in the near
future to continue with work on a management plan for the river up to the Head of Tide as we are responsible for
all tidal waters. We are also looking at future maintenance for some of our larger structures such as the
breakwater, which was built in the mid-1980’s. The breakwater provides protection for the City Landing as well as
for much of the Inner Harbor area. The City has recently looked into more substantial protection such as a
breakwater or wave attenuator which may protect a larger area of the harbor, but currently to build such structures
is cost-prohibitive. The Climate Crises Committee has done a lot of research to get a better idea of how potential
sea level rise will affect the harbor and surrounding areas in the future and Belfast was also chosen for a State
Planning study to determine how marine facilities may be affected. This information will be taken into
consideration with harbor-related maintenance projects.
Harbor revenues are currently up about 5% this fiscal year (from Harbor records). The number of mooring permits
remains steady at around 300 total. It’s difficult to determine at this time how the Harbor Department will be
affected by the COVID 19 restrictions as far as revenues. It appears that both the charter vessels and cruise ships
will either be running late in the season or not at all. The cruisers from out of state may also find it difficult to get as
far north as Maine with marinas south of here being closed or quarantined. However, I do expect we will see a lot
of local boating traffic as most seem anxious to get their boats in this season.
Most marine events in the area have been cancelled or postponed until later in the season, but the City Landing will
operate as usual as much as possible this summer with guidance from the City Council, State, CDC, and Coast
Guard. The Harbor Office will be open 7 days a week starting Memorial Day weekend and we can be reached by
phone, email, or VHF radio.
Respectfully Submitted, Katherine Pickering, Harbor Master, City of Belfast
25 CITY OF BELFAST ANNUAL REPORT 2020
Belfast Free Library
Annual Report May 2020
The Belfast Free Library is a high traffic public building (or was, until the COVID-19 shutdown). In 2019,
over 160,000 visits were made to the library; more than 9,000 people attended library programs; and almost
38,000 uses were made of the library’s WiFi connection and computers. Online services are ever
increasing, but the library still has been a popular destination.
Circulation of library material (books, ebooks, and audiovisual) remains strong. Even when something is
not owned by the Belfast Free Library, it almost certainly exists somewhere in the nine million unique
holdings in other library collections in Maine and will be delivered to our library, usually within a week, as
a result of our participation in the Minerva and Maine InfoNet library organizations. About 29,000 items
were borrowed or sent out through interlibrary loan in 2019.
Youth Services Librarian Erica Rubin Irish continues to provide services to youngsters in the Belfast
community. She arranges and conducts numerous storytimes as well as stellar programs, and she is
strengthening the library’s collaboration with local schools. Recently, she has taken many of her programs
online due to the pandemic.
Brenda Harrington organizes and presents a wide variety of adult programs. “Maine Authors Talk
About…” continues to be a very popular summer series of discussions. The monthly new art displays
orchestrated by Brenda in the Kramer Gallery always welcome and delight people coming to the library.
Brenda also is the library’s vital connection and organizer with the Belfast Poetry Festival, the Belfast
Creative Coalition, and the Maine Community Foundation.
Reference and Special Collections Librarian Sharon Pietryka—besides her daily responsibilities answering
research questions—coordinates the activities of the local Wawenoc Genealogy Group. Sharon also is
working with summer resident and esteemed volunteer Ted Steel to conduct a thorough inventory of the
archival collection. Additionally, Sharon acts as the library’s technology guru.
This past year, the library debuted a new Mobile MakerSpace, which was funded by grant from the William
W. Treat Foundation.
The kitchenette in the Abbott Room was remodeled this past year with proceeds from the library’s Annual
Appeal.
New, more comfortable chairs (80 of them) were purchased for the Abbott Room by the Friends of the
Belfast Free Library. In the previous year, the Friends purchased new chairs for the Gammans Room. The
Friends also gave the library $11,000 this year to replace the City’s annual library book budget, which was
eliminated because of the budget crisis. The library cannot get by without its Friends! Thank you, Friends!
Significant HVAC problems came to light in the past year. The fuel pump, air separator tank, and heating
coils in the air exchange unit had to be replaced when they stopped working. The library has begun
working with the City Energy Committee to develop plans for a new, more energy efficient HVAC system.
The library, with much help from Public Works, dealt with sewer back-ups into the Abbott Room in June
and again in July and again in August.
26 CITY OF BELFAST ANNUAL REPORT 2020
A walk-in reciprocal borrowing pilot program with many other libraries throughout Maine began in
September.
The library’s handyman extraordinaire Ken Vandrey retired this past year. Cliff Friberg has taken over
Ken’s former tasks.
During May through September, there was a special exhibit at the Portland Museum of Art on the historic
Haystack Mountain School of Crafts. Several pieces in the exhibit were from the Belfast Free Library’s
archives! Former BFL librarians Betsy Paradis and B.J. Jamieson had searched diligently in years past to
find many items in our archives for the exhibit.
Steve Norman serves as the Minerva consortium representative to and is currently Vice Chair of the Maine
InfoNet Board.
The library worked with RSU 71 to provide extra programs for the students who had new free time on
Friday afternoons due to the weekly early school release on Fridays.
The Belfast Garden Club continues to beautify the plantings around the library. Many, many thanks to the
Belfast Garden Club for the fabulous work they do!
Challenges for the year ahead include, as always, keeping up with the digital world; serving the ever-
changing public; and acting as good caretakers and stewards of our historic library building. The extra
challenge will be figuring out how to provide library service during a pandemic!
Staff: Steve Norman, Director
Erica Rubin Irish, Youth Services Librarian
Sharon Pietryka, Reference & Special Collections Librarian
Brenda Harrington, Adult Services Coordinator
Gail Bryan
Vicky DePersiis Vona
Tiffany Howard Trustees: Kay Zegel, President
Logan Clark Cyndie Martell, Vice President
James Campbell Robert Adler, Treasurer
Kate Harris Robin Kruger, Secretary
Ashleigh Eastham Syrena Gatewood
27 CITY OF BELFAST ANNUAL REPORT 2020
28 CITY OF BELFAST ANNUAL REPORT 2020
Belfast Police Department
Year in review (2019/2020)
By Chief Gerald Lincoln
The Department
With 16 full time officers in our compliment, the Belfast Police Department is responsible for delivering
public safety and law enforcement services to the Belfast Community. Our officers are capable and in tune
with the public they serve. They take their jobs seriously because their jobs are serious. My challenge to
our officers is to maintain a balance of friendly, community-oriented policing, while at the same time being
vigilant with regard to criminal behavior and activity. This is no small task, and not an easy concept. We
must be effective in our efforts to deter criminal conduct, but we can’t assume everyone is a criminal. I’m
pleased with the efforts our officers put into taking care of our community, we’re not perfect, however I see
a continued strong desire by every member of our agency to do the best they can for the people they serve.
In the 2019, our officers responded to almost 7,500 calls for service, in those calls for service were 86
assaults, 49 domestic abuse cases, 91 thefts, 152 disturbance cases, and 335 animal control cases. The rest
of the calls ranged from public assists, burglaries, vandalism, car accidents, etc.
Our K-9 unit responded to 32 calls in this year. Most of these calls were for tracking purposes. Our K-9,
along with its handler, Officer Travis Spencer, are well known in the K-9 community as one of the best K-9
teams in the State. They have racked up an impressive number of tracks and have played a very important
role in making Belfast and the greater Waldo County area a safer place.
Officer Roy Smith, who is our School Resource Officer has been extremely busy in the Belfast Area
School system. While the majority of his time is spent at the Belfast Area High School, he spends a lot of
time at the Middle School and makes time to visit the Belfast Area Elementary Schools. Officer Smith has
become an integral and accepted part of the Belfast School system and is in, I feel, one of the most
important positions in the Police Department. No other Officer in the Department has contact with as many
citizens of our community on a daily basis, than the School Resource Officer.
29 CITY OF BELFAST ANNUAL REPORT 2020
Sergeant Dan Thompson, our Department’s Accident Reconstructionist, has reconstructed some very
serious crashes this year for the Belfast Police Department and surrounding agencies. We are fortunate to
have this certification within our agency. With the increase in traffic, we’ve had the unfortunate experience
of multiple serious accidents in the past to include fatalities. The most serious accidents require in depth
investigations and having this capability allows us to conduct a timely, accurate, and essential service to
our community.
One of the ways we are responsive to the needs and expectations of the City of Belfast is through the
willingness of our Officers to take on additional specialties above and beyond what is required of them to
be a Patrol Officer. Some of the specialties include: OUI/Standardized Field Sobriety Tests Trainer, K-9
Officer, Accident Reconstructionist, Polygraph Examiner, Firearms instructors, Field Training Officers,
Emergency Vehicle Operations instructor, Tazer instructor, and MARC (mechanics of arrest restraint and
control) instructor among others. Almost all of our Police officers are trained in mental health crisis
intervention, with the goal of all of them being trained, and many of our officers are trained in Advanced
Roadside Impaired Driving Enforcement which is extremely valuable in keeping the roads of Belfast safe.
The special training our officers have received over the last several years relates directly to the service we
provide for this community on a daily basis. I’m confident our Department is moving in a positive
direction.
Our efforts have not gone un-noticed, our officers are often asked to assist with training at the Maine
Criminal Justice Academy as instructors where they provide new officers from around the state with
training in Firearms, Mechanics of Arrest and Defensive Tactics, Emergency Vehicle Operations, as well as
Intoxilyzer training. I’m pleased that our officers are sought out to assist with the training of these new
officers. It’s both an honor and a tremendous credit to the quality work and commitment they have for their
profession and to their community.
Of course, no police department is without a support staff. We have three individuals who work for us in
this role. First is Mary-Beth, she is one of the busiest individuals in the agency. Her tasks include, but are
far from limited to, every form of records keeping our agency requires. She documents Uniform Crime
Index (a State/Federal system for recording the types of crimes that occur in our community). Additionally,
she’s responsible for preparing payroll, answering the phone, copying reports for citizens, preparing
documents in compliance with the Freedom of Information Act, and assisting people who walk into the
office. She does all this with a friendly, kind and warm demeanor.
Next is Penney, she’s worked for the Belfast Police Department for over 18 years as a part time
receptionist. Penney brings a strong clerical skill to the equation, and assists in many areas of records
keeping from Parking Tickets to Dog License databases.
Last but not least we have Russ (Parking Enforcement). Russ is tasked with ensuring our parking
ordinances are enforced in the downtown area. Russ makes his job look much easier than it actually is.
Parking tickets are certainly not a favorite thing for people. However, our ordinance and the manner in
which Russ does his job very often result in a positive outcome to the vast majority of people he comes into
contact with.
30 CITY OF BELFAST ANNUAL REPORT 2020
2020/2021 Budget Year
In the fiscal year 2020/2021, I have requested a budget that would allow the Department to meet the
expected needs of the City of Belfast in a fiscally responsible and efficient way. While this year is a
challenging year, we have basic needs, of a Department our size, to best provide services the community
expects of it Police Department and I have not requested funding for any new or extraneous items or
ventures, with the exception of necessary accommodations for our female officers. I have only requested
minimal increases to cover contractual and item cost increases from the previous year.
The Future
In my opinion we are situated well in terms of meeting the expectations not only of our community, but
also the changing certification demands that are almost certainly coming our way. The Maine Chiefs of
Police Association approved the accreditation program for police departments throughout the State of
Maine. At this time the accreditation process is still voluntary and there are incentives for compliance such
as an insurance break of 10% through the Maine Municipal Association, however the process will likely
become mandatory in the near future. This accreditation will cost more money to manage for Departments.
Nothing about the accreditation process concerns me in terms of being able to meet the requirements. I’m
confident that our department and the officers who serve our community meet or exceed most all the
components of the process that have to do with the service we provide and the techniques we use to
investigate the variety of calls we respond to. I am concerned that the process will simply require us to
focus much more time and resources toward administrative functions that very few individuals outside the
accreditation process would even be aware of or interested in.
Other mandates I predict will certainly be forthcoming such as e-ticketing, digital report submission, and
other technological advances will further burden tight Law Enforcement budgets in the not so distant
future.
In Closing
It is an enormous honor for me to be the Chief of the Belfast Police Department. In my opinion, I work for
the best community in the State of Maine. I look forward to answering any questions you or the community
may have regarding any aspect of police services.
Respectfully,
Chief Gerald Lincoln
31 CITY OF BELFAST ANNUAL REPORT 2020
32 CITY OF BELFAST ANNUAL REPORT 2020
33 CITY OF BELFAST ANNUAL REPORT 2020
2019 Annual Report
Tax Office
Real Estate Taxes
The tax mil rate increased for the third year in a row, from $22.70 in 2018 to $22.90 for 2019. The interest
rate was set by the City Council at 9%, and increase form 8% in 2018.
On August 21, 2019, a total of $17,383,071.69 was committed to Amy I. Flood by the Assessor, Brent
Martin. On September 17, 2019 a total of $15,649,660.68 was recommitted to Theresa Butler. The
First installment was due 10/10/2019 and the second installment was due 3/03/2020. The foreclosure date
for the 2017 Real Estate Taxes was January 27, 2020, this year there were no Foreclosures. As of
December 31, 2019 there are 131 unpaid 2018 Real Estate Tax accounts
On July 23, 2019, liens were placed on 186 accounts for unpaid 2016 Real Estate Taxes. These liens have
a foreclosure date of January 27, 2021.
Sewer Department
The sewer charges for the first half of 2019 (January – June), were billed in July with a commitment of $
433,325.82 with 1454 accounts in the system. The second half of 2019 (July – December), was billed in
February 2020 with 1451 accounts and a commitment of $498,032.12.
Total charges for the calendar year 2019 were $931,357.94, an increase of $16,804.91.
Airport Hangars
The Tax Office collected $23,609.00 for hangar lease payments.
Motor Vehicles
Excise tax collected for Fiscal Year 2018-2019 was of $1,155,526.94. Agent fees collected were
$20,093.00
We are pleased to offer an email reminder for registration renewals. If you have a current email and are
interested in receiving a reminder notice, please stop by or call our office with your registration or Plate #
and we will set that up for you. This notice provides you with the expiration of your registration as well as
the cost for renewal.
We also offer online registrations through the State of Maine through the Rapid Renewal Program, this can
be accessed on the cityofbelfast.org website under “How do I?”, “pay taxes”.
Inland Fisheries & Wildlife
Our office processed 336 boat registrations with $10,854.90 collected in boat excise.
We also issued 121 ATV registrations and 90 snowmobiles.
A total of $1,451.00 was collected in agent fees for the Fish and Wildlife registrations processed.
Respectfully submitted,
Theresa Butler, Tax Collector & Amy I. Flood, BMV Agent & Sewer Clerk
34 CITY OF BELFAST ANNUAL REPORT 2020
CITY OF BELFAST TRANSFER STATION
Mayor Eric Sanders, Belfast City Councilors, Mary Mortier, Neal Harkness, Brenda Bonneville, Mike
Hurley, Paul Dean and City Manager Erin Herbig.
I'm happy to be here to address the 2020/2021 budget for the Belfast Transfer Station. We are a small,
efficient and hard-working crew who run a facility, utilized by a large portion of our community. We
serve not only our citizens, but help with the recycling efforts for Searsport and Swanville as well.
We have a crew of 5 individuals, Steve Roberts, Ron Spear, Peter Baily, Mike Ames and I. In the short
time I've been a part of this team I've been extremely impressed with their dedication to the job.
These people are among the hardest working and most loyal staff I've ever had the pleasure of
working with. Not a single sick day used.
I learned just last week I have to be particularly careful when handling requests for time off with this
crew. Just last weekend Peter Bailey requested Saturday off to spend time with his kids via text
message. I responded "Sure". I actually reflected on the request and thought to myself "I should have
taken more time to spend with my kids back when they were young". I was yet again impressed with
Pete. Saturday morning came and I noticed Pete was at work. I asked him what he was doing there
and Pete said, well you didn't sound real happy that I was taking the day off so I decided to come in. I
felt horrible, and explained to Pete that I was actually thinking I should have taken more time off like
that when I was his age. I assured him that in the future if I said "Sure" when he asked for a day off I
meant it. Pete refused to go home and remained at work for the rest of the day.
I can go on with examples of the impressive work ethic that all of these individuals possess. The ethic
is genuine, it's part of who they are, it's not because they make bundles of money, or because the job
is so glamourous. In fact the job can be down-right disgusting at times, and the money we're paying
our people is a serious issue with me. Peter Baily and Mike Ames are both making Minimum Wage. As
I said before not only have they not called in sick, but they have not failed to do a single thing that's
been asked of them. Keeping in mind the type of service we provide that is impressive in and of itself.
Ron Spears (who's been there for 6 + years) is making a bit more than minimum wage.
Steve Roberts has been with the Belfast Transfer Station since it opened. He shows up 2 hours early to
work every day without fail. If Steve's car isn't in its usual spot when I get to work, I know something
has gone very wrong. I can tell you in 6 months that has happened no more than 2 times. Both times
were extraordinary situations. Steve's depth of knowledge on the workings of this facility are second
to none. Steve is part of the Highway Department bargaining unit. So I can't directly address his
compensation formally until contract negotiations are in place. But if Steve isn't the lowest paid City
Employee with 30+ years on the job I'll be shocked. Steve's hourly pay is under $20.00 per hour.
You'll notice the fact that I chose to start my annual report without mentioning a single word about
the amount of trash that we took in, or the recycling material we processed and shipped out. The fact
is the last 6 months have been quite a challenge. It seems that everything that could go wrong has
gone wrong. The computer we used to manage the book keeping and the cash register crashed. All of
35 CITY OF BELFAST ANNUAL REPORT 2020
the information was lost. None of the information was backed up so all of the data for the past 7 years
was lost when the computer crashed. In February our garage door broke in the upright position (as
luck would have it.) The starter on the Forklift went bad, upon further examination the starter was in
need of repair for years and had chewed up the Flywheel, which changed a $1,200.00 job into a
$5,000.00 job. The backhoe has leaking fuel injectors and wore out wheel barring's. 3 of the 4
compactor machines we use to process recyclable materials are 30 or more years of age. Not only are
they wore out, we can't get parts for them anymore. I don't mention these things to complain but
rather to demonstrate the fact that this facility isn't what makes this department successful. Your
facility is wore out by anyone's standards. The success of the Belfast Transfer Station has everything to
do with the people who work there not the machines they use.
I understand this budget has some significant challenges for us all. I feel confident I can squeeze
another year out of what we have here. I predict my building maintenance line is going to be hard to
keep on target for the year simply because it's where all these repairs are going to come from. I can't
predict what part of the worn out system will break next. If I had to guess it would probably be our
compactor where we dispose of our household trash. That machine is used very frequently. It's
working fine now, but like everything we have it's old and it's worn, and extremely expensive to fix.
Beyond that there are a few areas of the operation that I'd like some direction on.
1. Recycling. In the past there were markets for the recycling materials we processed. Right now those
markets have dried up. We used to make good money recycling now we are looking for cost
mitigation. We need to decide at what point do we stop recycling efforts locally and divert the
material to Fiberight? We pay $71.00 per ton to ship to Fiberight. Some of the recycling materials we
handle are costing us over $90.00 a ton to get rid of and an additional $800.00 per load to have
hauled off. And that's before we pay our staff to process the material. I estimate Mixed Plastic and
Mixed Paper are currently costing us about $176.00 per ton to ship out of our facility. We lose money
on these materials, and they are very likely not being recycled. They are most likely being used as
fuel.
2. Who is allowed to use this facility? I'm not asking this question because of the fact that one of our
citizens decided it was a good idea to yell and swear at me because he noticed a vehicle from New
Hamshire dumping trash at our facility. I'm asking because I need to know if it's okay for people other
than Belfast citizens to dump at our facility. I will say that an awful lot of people who are not from
Belfast use our facility. I'll also say that the disposal of a lot of recycling materials are costing us
money. So even if the people deposit recycling materials they are still costing the Belfast Tax Payer
money. I think the biggest volume of out of town individuals who utilize our facility come from Morrill
and Northport. I would be happy to figure out some workable solution/agreement with each of these
towns if that's something you are interested in exploring.
Currently Swanville and Searsport bring us recycling materials. Because the market has changed so,
they actually pay us to bring that material here for us to process. Unfortunately when individuals from
out of town come to the facility they get to drop off recycling materials for free. Which has a negative
effect on my budget because almost all of the recycling we do costs us money at this time. I can
explain more as to why we should continue to recycle from a fiscal perspective at the meeting.
36 CITY OF BELFAST ANNUAL REPORT 2020
In all I suspect our numbers heading into the next fiscal year will be just below projections due to the
fact that so many people utilized the time away from work to clean up yards, basem*nts, garages and
attic spaces that it doesn't seem possible there's any trash left here in Belfast. But I'm sure we will find
more.
I look forward to answering your questions and addressing any concerns you might have with the
budget I've submitted.
Thank you
Mike McFadden.
37 CITY OF BELFAST ANNUAL REPORT 2020
Cable TV department review of 2019-2020
The video department found itself dealing with almost double the workload this year, compared to past
years. This was due in part to the addition work to do live remote productions related to the Nordic
Aquafarm hearings as well as the additional meetings and live streaming of committee meetings relating to
the response to Covid-19. The department has produced additional interviews with Councilors Mayor, local
health professionals, business leaders, educational administrators and city department heads to keep the
community informed about how the city is adjusting to the pandemic. These programs have been shared on
social media, posted to the city's website and shown on Belfast Community TV in an effort to reach as
many citizens as possible.
$10,000 dollars has been the annual expense of funding the city's public access channel for several years.
This channel which began operation in 2006 provides 24/7 programming to the community. In May of
2019, the station's offices moved due to a doubling of the rent when ownership of the building changed.
The station has found a new home at the Crosby Center. The station is operated primarily by volunteers.
There is one part time employee, who’s responsible for downloading of programs. Due to budget issues,
that employee has reduced their paid work from 5 to 3 hours per week. And so the weekly expense was
reduced from $50 to $32. The station has assisted community members in producing their own programs,
such as “Good Morning Belfast”. It has loaned equipment and provided production support to individuals
producing documentaries, or recording church services. In fact with the need to eliminate “in person”
church services, the station has taught individuals and clergy how to record services using station
equipment from their homes. Additionally the station has recorded candidate forums, Nordic Aquafarm
presentations, and talks from Bookshops, Historical Societies or city committees. The station receives
support from local businesses such as accounting, computer support, and vehicle maintenance. There is also
some modest financial support from generous donors. The $10,000 covers every expense from rent,
streaming, a Vimeo channel that has over 2000 local programs available for on-demand viewing, part time
employee expenses office expenses, equipment maintenance, production expenses, and equipment
replacement. We struggle to maintain our services to the community with increasing expenses, but to date
have been able to operate with generous volunteer support.
38 CITY OF BELFAST ANNUAL REPORT 2020
39 CITY OF BELFAST ANNUAL REPORT 2020
40 CITY OF BELFAST ANNUAL REPORT 2020
41 CITY OF BELFAST ANNUAL REPORT 2020
42 CITY OF BELFAST ANNUAL REPORT 2020
43 CITY OF BELFAST ANNUAL REPORT 2020
44 CITY OF BELFAST ANNUAL REPORT 2020
45 CITY OF BELFAST ANNUAL REPORT 2020
46 CITY OF BELFAST ANNUAL REPORT 2020
47 CITY OF BELFAST ANNUAL REPORT 2020
48 CITY OF BELFAST ANNUAL REPORT 2020
Dear Belfast Residents,
I am pleased to continue in service to the citizens of Belfast! It is a joy to deliver copies of my Legislative Newsletter
to the town office! You are lucky to have such experienced and friendly staff working on your behalf.
This legislative session took an unusual turn as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. While the second session of the
Legislature generally runs through mid-April, the Presiding Officers made the decision to end our session on March
17. This was done in an effort to adhere to the Center for Disease Control’s social distancing guidelines and to keep
staff, constituents and our communities safe.
Before adjourning, my colleagues and I passed emergency legislation to help Mainers through the evolving COVID-
19 crisis. Among other things, we included provisions to temporarily expand unemployment insurance benefits;
empower the state Department of Education to waive certain school-day requirements and ensure students continue
to receive needed meals while schools were closed; allow remote participation in municipal meetings; establish a
consumer loan guarantee program to help eligible Mainers access low- or no-interest loans; and authorize the
Governor to prohibit utilities from terminating residential electric and water service during this period. We
additionally designated at least $11 million in state funding to further respond to COVID-19. While I am no longer
in Augusta, I remain in close contact with the administration and am working to provide relief for our community.
In addition to our COVID-19 efforts, the Legislature passed a $73 million supplemental budget that raised rates for
direct health care providers, increased the state’s pre-k-12 education contribution by $38 million, and more, all while
adding another $17.4 million to the “Rainy Day Fund.” We also passed a bond in the amount of $105 million for
transportation needs and $15 million for broadband access.
On top of these critical actions, we achieved some big successes this session. We passed an affordable housing tax
credit that will help us build 1,000 more affordable housing units over the next eight years. We put new safeguards in
place to prevent tragedies like last year’s devastating explosion in Farmington. And we passed a package of health
care bills aimed at driving down costs and increasing accessibility for all Mainers.
There is certainly more we’d like to do, but until then, I am proud of what we have been able to accomplish for
Maine people. Please contact me if I can be of any help to you and your family, or if you want to discuss any
legislation. I fully welcome your questions and feedback. Respectfully,
Janice Dodge, State Representative
Janice Dodge
17 Vine St
Belfast, ME 04915
Phone: (207) 338-1626 [emailprotected]
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 2 STATE HOUSE STATION
AUGUSTA, MAINE 04333-0002
(207) 287-1400
TTY: MAINE RELAY 711
49 CITY OF BELFAST ANNUAL REPORT 2020
50 CITY OF BELFAST ANNUAL REPORT 2020
51 CITY OF BELFAST ANNUAL REPORT 2020
52 CITY OF BELFAST ANNUAL REPORT 2020
53 CITY OF BELFAST ANNUAL REPORT 2020
54 CITY OF BELFAST ANNUAL REPORT 2020
NOTES
55 CITY OF BELFAST ANNUAL REPORT 2020
NOTES