WESTMORE — Town Meeting Day in Westmore turned out to be a true test of democratic endurance.  The meeting stretched over five hours, with most of the heaviest discussion taking place before lunch.

Early on, there was some discussion about an 8 percent penalty imposed on late taxes.  Randi Pickel, who brought the matter  to the floor, made mention that there were discussions going on in Montpelier to lower the penalty.

Delinquent Tax Collector Robert Decker said the 8 percent fee had always been in place, and quickly responded to one voter who said that there was a rumor that the fee was lower for certain individuals.

“Nobody ever got a reduced rate from me,” Mr. Decker said.  “Whoever you heard that rumor from, have them call me.”

Although there was uncertainty as to how to lower the fee, it was decided that the town attorney would be consulted to look into the matter.

Voters spent close to an hour and a half debating a motion brought to the floor by Bob Fitzpatrick to freeze salaries for all municipal workers back to the 2010 level.  Mr. Fitzpatrick's motion was a subsidiary to Article 9, a vote to accept the proposed 2011 budget of $364,326.07 for the General Fund.

The discussion quickly gained momentum, and it seemed that most people were in favor of the salary freeze.

“That's why spirited debate is good,” Moderator Vincent Dotoli said as the discussion progressed.

As the debate went on, and more and more questions were raised, it became unclear which municipal workers would be affected.  Most voters seemed to feel it should not affect the highway department.  A few in the crowd came down especially hard on the listers’ expenses.

Ms. Pickel frequently mentioned the listers’ expenses in Barton, quoting from their proposed budget of $5,370, compared to the $32,903 budgeted in Westmore.  Spirited debate quickly turned into spirited confusion and frustration.

“It's very hard to compare towns this way,” someone said.

In the end, the motion carried by a vote of 25-20, but not before several counts were taken due to objections about the outcome.  Someone suggested taking the vote by standing up, instead of raising hands.

The salary freeze brought the proposed budget down to $363,702.

During the break for lunch more then a few people questioned the motion's significance given the $624 it ended up saving.  After lunch the crowd noticeably thinned out.

The rest of the articles passed with limited debate.

There was some discussion when voters approved a $10,000 appropriation to be added to the Milfoil Program Reserve Fund, but hardly anything was mentioned about the different ways to eradicate milfoil from Lake Willoughby.  The debate, suction harvest vs. hand picking, still seems to be an issue.