DIXFIELD – Faced with choosing between minimum and maximum tax rate options Monday night, selectmen took the middle ground.

After a unanimous vote, Dixfield’s new mill rate became $26 per $1,000 of valuation.

It represents a $2.50 increase per $1,000 of valuation over last year’s $23.50 tax rate.

Town Manager Nanci Allard said this means that if someone has a home that’s valued at $100,000, they’ll have to pay $250 more in property taxes than they paid last year.

Last year, the town’s tax rate jumped $2.75 per $1,000 of valuation to $23.50.

After completing a tax assessment warrant, selectmen were faced with either setting a minimum tax rate of $25.62 or a maximum tax rate of $26.90 to raise the needed net of $2,185,438.

Selectmen Chairman Hugh Daley said this year’s tax rate increase was attributed to a drop in the state valuation for Dixfield and an increase in SAD 21’s school budget.

“If we were at 100 percent valuation, then taxes would have gone down,” Allard said. “But the state says we’re at 84 percent.”

That statement started a brief discussion about costs associated with a revaluation before it was tabled to the board’s next meeting at 4:30 p.m. Monday, Aug. 11, in the town office.

Selectmen also, begrudgingly, voted unanimously to pay the county tax of $75,366, a $1,185 increase over last year’s tax of $74,181.

“There’s nothing we can do about this,” Daley added.

In other business, selectmen also tabled for the second straight meeting, a discussion about who is responsible for managing Ludden Memorial Library Board of Trustee funds.

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