With March upon us, so too comes preparation for the busy seasons ahead. Our Public Works Department is all about spring cleanup, focusing on road maintenance and household waste disposal days for you. Community Services, on the other hand, is full steam ahead to summer! Check out the seasonal positions they now have open for beach attendants, camp counselors, and more. Committees and Town Council are looking even beyond summer and into the future of the Town of Scarborough, particularly in terms of strategic growth management, imagining what a long term "downtown district" could look like, and reviewing the Town's charter. Read on for details on what's happening now, months from now, and beyond!

While Town Hall remains open to the public during regular hours, all council and committee meetings are virtual. See the Town Calendar for agendas, Zoom & YouTube links (posted by end of day Friday of the week prior)

The Town of Scarborough has several forms of tax relief available to residents who are looking for assistance with their taxes. Exemptions are:

Exemption applications can be emailed to ebehn@scarboroughmaine.org (with a wet signature, electronic signatures are not accepted), mailed, or dropped off at Town Hall.

The second half of your property tax bill is due by Monday, March 15, 2021. Use our convenient and safe portal to make an online payment. Click Here to make a payment.

In addition to exemptions, the Town has a Property Tax Assistance Program for Scarborough seniors. If your annual property tax burden exceeds 5% of household Adjusted Gross Income, you may be eligible for a return of up to $750 at the end of the year. For residents who rent, we consider your rent as part of your tax burden. The deadline to apply is October 15, 2021. The eligibility requirements are:

Please contact the Assessing Department at (207) 730-4063 or ebehn@scarboroughmaine.org if you have any questions.

In partnership with Southern Maine Agency on Aging, seniors 60 or older can get 3 pre-cooked frozen meals to enjoy when you need them. $10 suggested donation, $15 if under age 60.

Upcoming Pick-Up Dates:

Drive-thru pick up is located at 418 Payne Road, Scarborough from 11:00am to 12:00pm.

Register for one or more days by calling (207) 730-4173. Please leave a message, and someone will get back to you.

During the winter months the Scarborough Police Explorers have been providing “Sand for Seniors”. They drop buckets of sand off at homes of senior citizens at no cost for them to use for their sidewalks and driveways.

It's still icy outside! If you could benefit from this program, please fill out the form below and return to the Scarborough Police Department, email Sergeant Scott Vaughan or call 730-4310.

Accurate sorting saves money! Did you know disposing of clean recycling is less expensive than disposing of trash? But, contaminated recycling, or recycling that has trash and other non-recyclables mixed in with it, costs the most at $111.50/ton! Do your part to #RecycleRight by checking ecomaine's Recyclopedia to learn how to correctly dispose of thousands of items.

The 2021 household hazardous waste collection days have been scheduled for the following dates:

Scarborough residents may participate in all three events at no cost. Proof of residency required.

Roads are posted for the Town of Scarborough as of February. This means that vehicles weighing over 23,000 pounds will not be allowed access on a posted road. The purpose of the restrictions is to limit damage to roadways while they thaw. As the season shifts toward spring, the melting snow and ice saturate the ground under the roads, weakening the base supporting the asphalt. This weakened base cannot support the stress of heavy loads and can result in costly and avoidable road damage. (Exemptions for heating oil trucks, trash trucks, and school buses).

For updates, refer to the Public Works webpage or call (207) 730-4400 and press 2.

Start making your summer plans! If you or anyone you know is looking for seasonal work in an outdoor setting, apply to one of these positions before March 28:

Thank you for all who came out—or stayed in virtually!—to support Project G.R.A.C.E.’s 9th annual Fuel Rally to keep our neighbors warm. Donations large and small from our community and event sponsors helped them exceed their $15,000 goal and raised $30,000! A great thank you to the Lions Club, Friends of Scarborough Library, SoPo Catering, and Scarborough’s Community Services and public safety members for their on-the-ground support. 

Every 10 years, the Town of Scarborough reviews and updates its Charter. This lays the foundation for how we as a community elect our leaders, administer the business of the town and much more.

The council appointed 9 members from the community to fulfill this duty and the inaugural meeting of the Ad-Hoc Charter Committee was held in January. Since then, subcommittees have been formed and assigned various sections of the document for a more detailed review before the entire committee votes to accept and recommend changes to the Council. After the committee makes recommendations to the Council, there will be two public hearings. Any proposed changes will end up in front of the voters for approval at the ballot box.

Click Here for Charter Review committee meetings recorded on YouTube.

How to Participate: The committee meets every 2nd and 4th Thursday evening via Zoom at 6:30pm. View Town Calendar for schedule

The Downtown Development Committee also kicked off in January with the goal of planning what a downtown district could look like. The following subcommittees have been formed:

Click Here for Downtown committee meetings recorded on YouTube.

How to Participate: The committee meets every 1st & 3rd Tuesday evening via Zoom at 6:30pm. View Town Calendar for schedule. They encourage participation by joining the meetings or sending in feedback so it can be given to the right committees to work on. 

Please provide your thoughts and ideas during this process to help us better understand the wishes of the community. The town website contains information on the committees, scheduled meetings and agendas, and a form to submit your ideas to us. We hope to hear from you!

Since then, the GMO has been amended periodically to accommodate housing trends like condominiums, single bedroom units, and multi-family homes, while continuing to maintain the 135 annual growth permit limit. Over time, the GMO, with all its amendments, became increasingly difficult to understand and a challenge to determine how many new dwellings were being built in Scarborough in a given year.

Now, twenty years later, the Town Council has directed the Ordinance committee to review the GMO and bring forward any suggested recommendations for change to the full council. Click Here to view the February 18, 2021 meeting which discusses these and additional changes, scheduled for March 14, 2021. The public is encouraged to attend and offer further suggestions and comments regarding the pace of growth in Scarborough.

Scarborough Town Council

Paul Johnson, Chair • Don Hamill, Vice Chair • Jonathan Anderson • Jean-Marie Caterina • John Cloutier • Betsy Gleysteen • Ken Johnson

Town Council meets the first and third Wednesday of each month at 7 PM. Visit our online calendar for links to attend and view agendas.

The public portion of the FY22 budget process is about to get underway as district leadership will present their budget in detailed workshops with the school board, held virtually on:

These meetings will provide insight into the district’s FY22 school year priorities and the district leadership’s decision making process for reaching their proposed first reading of the budget, to be formally presented at the Thursday March 18th School Board meeting. Zoom links will be posted on the Scarborough Public Schools website.

The board has officially begun a search for a new superintendent and is in the process of reviewing community applications for the interview committee, as well as collating the data from the key criteria feedback survey (both due today). Thank you to everyone who took the time to fill out the survey or apply for the interview committee. The board will be announcing the committee members at the Thursday, March 4th meeting.  

The FY22 budget and superintendent search will be a large focus for board efforts in the coming months. We look forward to hearing from you as these projects progress. Please reach out with any questions or comments at boe@scarboroughschools.org.

Computer Lab appointments, curbside, and In-Person browsing are now all offered during business hours! Users must wear a mask, keep a 6-foot distance from others, and use hand sanitizer while inside the building. In-person browsing is limited to fifteen minutes. Scarborough Library cards are required to borrow materials. 

3 Ways to request materials ahead of time:

Library staff members will contact people when their requested materials are ready for pickup in-person or curbside. To pick up materials Curbside, park in the designated curbside parking spots and text 883-4723 or call 883-4723 option 2. A member of the Library staff will bring your requested materials to the car.

Robust digital resources remain available through SPL@Home. Home Delivery for the Homebound provides free delivery of materials twice a month to Scarborough residents unable to visit the Library due to long or short-term illness, immobility or age. Learn More.

“We are often told by Library users that we are the heart of Scarborough,” says Library Director Nancy Crowell. “We really love the opportunity to serve our patrons in person. It’s as easy as 1-2-3. One great Library. Two ways to get materials. Three ways to request what you want.”

Monday 10am-5pm • Tuesday 10am-5pm • Wednesday 10am-6pm • Thursday 10am-5pm • Friday 10am-5pm • Saturday 10am-2pm • Sunday Closed

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