RUMFORD – Selectmen want to know more about the town’s share of county police services, the possible impact of a new school-funding formula, and how to improve traffic flow and parking downtown.
To do that, meetings are being scheduled with those who know.
Town Manager Steve Eldridge said SAD 43 Superintendent Jim Hodgkin will visit the board at its Feb. 3 meeting to discuss the impact of the new school-funding formula. Eldridge said he expects the town’s increase to be nearly 1 mill or almost 5 percent higher than the current rate.
Also planned for next month is a visit by Oxford County Commissioner David Duguay who will field questions about Rumford’s share of the county tax. Some have questioned why Rumford must pay so much for sheriff’s department services when the town provides its own police department.
“We want to know how we can solve this,” Eldridge said.
Rumford pays $519,000 or 16 percent of the total county budget annually.
Part of the town’s planned revitalization includes providing enough parking for current downtown employees as well as for people who may come to work in some hoped-for new businesses. The plan will also look at the town’s traffic flow for visitors and residents of the town.
Eldridge said he plans to meet with Androscoggin Valley Council of Governments representatives to discuss traffic flow and parking studies in early February. That data, he said, could be used for grant submissions to benefit the growth of the town.
“We need professionals to look at these issues and to make recommendations,” said Eldridge.
In other matters, the board approved a major upgrade in the town’s computer system by agreeing to pay $29,900 for a software update from TRIO Software of Bangor, and another nearly $15,000 for Advanced Microsystems Solutions of Lewiston for the purchase of four new computers and a new server.
The board also accepted the resignation of Board of Assessors member Craig Chamberlain.
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