The Dresden town budget passed as presented and residents agreed to contract with Gardiner Ambulance Service.

Two proposals by selectmen were dismissed without discussion at Town Meeting on Saturday — a change in town office hours and official job descriptions for elected officials.

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Town Meeting 2014

First Selectman Phil Johnston said 40 to 50 people attended the meeting, which took about 90 minutes on Saturday morning.

The approved town budget is $704,725. That’s $42,600 more than the town appropriated last year, an increase of 6.4 percent. Most of the increase is because of $38,301 in additional spending in the highway accounts.

Johnston said meeting attendants spent the most time discussing the article to contract with Gardiner Ambulance Service. Contracting with Gardiner will save the town an estimated $4,750 over a one-year contract proposed by North East Mobile Health Services, which has provided Dresden’s ambulance service for five years.

After discussion about the differences in the two contracts, voters ultimately gave the selectmen approval to sign an agreement with Gardiner.

There were successful motions to dismiss the last two articles on the warrant, which were proposals to change the town office hours and adopt official job descriptions for elected officials. A motion to dismiss requires a two-thirds majority vote.

Johnston said as a result, the jobs of the town clerk, treasurer, property tax collector and excise tax collector will continue to be defined by state statute.

And the town office will keep its irregular hours: 1-6 p.m. Monday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday, 1-8 p.m. Thursday, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday and 9 a.m. to noon on the first Saturday of each month.

Selectmen said the schedule made it difficult for people to remember when the office was open. The proposal was to make office hours Tuesday through Friday, seven to nine hours each day, with no Saturdays.

Susan McMillan — 621-5645

smcmillan@centralmaine.com

Twitter: @s_e_mcmillan