WEST PARIS – Town Clerk Cheryl Shattenberg told selectmen Thursday that she has collected $259,495 in taxes to date, which is about normal.

She said the amount includes taxes collected starting early this spring “because we had quite a few people who began making payments toward their taxes early.”

Selectman Howard Gurney said, “This is about a third of what we will be collecting in all, and that’s about how it goes every year.”

Shattenberg and Gurney said probably a large number of people will pay before Aug. 25 to get the 3 percent discount.

“After the 25th it will probably slow down,” said Shattenberg, “because a lot of people wait and pay at the last minute.”

Selectmen approved raises effective immediately for: Deputy Town Clerk Jane Littlehale, from $8.50 to $10 per hour; clerk’s assistant Beverly Farrar, from $8.50 to $9 per hour; and transfer station attendant David Billings from from $8.25 to $9 per hour.

Billings has dropped his health insurance coverage that was paid 60 percent by the town because he now qualifies for Medicare.

It was announced that Selectman Harlan Abbott will be attending a solid waste operators forum later this month and will be bringing back application forms for grant money available from the state to help pay for the hazardous waste collection day planned next month.