During a four-hour town meeting on August 6 that drew 233 voters, Lubec residents decisively turned down a proposed land use ordinance while narrowly adopting a local aquaculture ordinance. They also adopted updates to the town’s Shoreland Zoning Ordinance. The votes to decide on the three ordinances drew the large crowd, with last year’s town meeting only attracting 48 voters.
Lubec residents are also concerned about rising taxes, and they are not alone in their concern, as it is a frequent issue in many communities. Locally, the total projected increase includes municipal, school and county taxes, coming to a 9.6% hike over the 2024‑25 fiscal year. This includes an increase of $173,223 for municipal operations. The $218,832 hike for school operations has already been approved, as has the $68,922 for the town’s share of the county budget.
Under the guidance of moderator Harold Bailey, the meeting opened with a motion being made to move the three ordinances, originally numbers 62‑64, to the beginning, on the assumption that many participants were concerned about those articles. That motion was “pretty much unanimous,” said Bailey.
