MEXICO – The town’s coffers are destined to get a little richer after selectmen accepted bids on three tax-acquired properties Wednesday night.

By unanimous votes, the board accepted the following high bids:

• $9,675 by Richard Duguay of Rumford for an abandoned building and a little more than half an acre of land at 359 Main St.

• $4,000 by David Murphy of Roxbury for a quarter acre lot and building at 549 Swift River Road, which is adjacent to his property.

• $6,150 by Gregory and Donna Trundy of Rumford for an eighth of an acre at 184 Granite St.

Town Clerk Penny Duguay said the properties were acquired by the town through nonpayment of taxes and other fees.

In other business, Mexico sold its 1979 International firetruck to the town of Byron for $1 after learning that Byron’s firetruck had died.

Town Manager Joseph Derouche said he had given Mexico Fire Chief Gary Wentzell permission to sell the old truck, but when Wentzell learned about the demise of Byron’s firetruck, they decided to keep the 1979 vehicle in the area and sell it to Byron.

“This keeps it in our mutual aid system,” Derouche told selectmen. After a unanimous vote approving the deal, Selectman Chairman Arthur Bordeau noted that the deal was “good community relations.”

Following a query from Selectwoman Monique Aniel, the board will include, on a monthly basis at its meetings, financial reports from the town’s general assistance account.

She was concerned about a sharp increase in use. Derouche, who directs the program, said he would start drafting the reports. However, he did note that once the town doles out $21,000, it would get reimbursed 90 percent from the state.

“This year we hit $21,000 and we’ve gone over that because the price of heating oil and food went up,” Derouche said.

As a result, he has started new procedures that scrutinize each case to determine if the town is spending money needlessly.

Selectmen also unanimously OK’d a request by the road commissioner to buy 300 yards of Flex Pave road resurfacing material at $30 per yard. The money will be taken from the construction account.

There will also be no live entertainment for the town’s Night of Appreciation at 5:30 p.m. Sept. 18 at the Rec Center due to having limited funds, Derouche added.

tkarkos@sunjournal.com

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