NORWAY – The Norway Board of Selectmen on Thursday discussed the possibility of allowing credit card payments at the town office and posting property tax information on the Internet.
Town Manager David Holt brought up the subjects while reviewing a capital projects budget with the selectmen after their regular meeting adjourned.
Board members were wary of both ideas.
“I must be old-fashioned,” said Selectman Bill Damon after learning that what he pays for property tax could be posted online. He said he didn’t mind anyone visiting the town hall to inquire about the information, which is public, but posting it on a Web site seemed more like an invasion of his privacy.
“You don’t have anything that’s private anymore,” complained Selectman George Tibbetts Jr.
Most board members agreed, but Bob Walker pointed out that the Internet is becoming more important.
“In the long term, the big picture is the Web site,” he said referring to the town’s site, www.norwaymaine.com. More information should be posted there in the future, he said.
Holt said he felt putting the property tax records online would benefit real estate agents, who are constantly looking for property tax information at the town office. It also would allow concerned residents to compare their taxes to those charged on similar properties.
“If we could put this information on the Web, I think it would be a positive thing,” he said.
Holt said a company is offering to post the information for between $2,500 and $12,000 a year, depending on the information posted. He said he will research other ways of getting the information on the Internet.
On the topic of credit card payments, Holt said the town has traditionally avoided allowing card transactions because of the fees charged by credit card companies.
However, he said, Presque Isle now uses a service that bills the individuals making the payments.
In the past, Holt said, he has operated under the value judgment “that we don’t think it’s good to have people pay their taxes with a credit card.”
However, more people have been asking for the service, he said.
“I think in the town’s case, it doesn’t necessarily mean more revenue coming in, it just means convenience for the customer,” board Chairman Leslie Flanders said.
The board agreed to have Holt look into the payment option.
Comments are no longer available on this story