HARTFORD – Two property owners on Bear Pond told selectmen they think their new property valuations are unfair.
Howard Frost of South Paris, who has a camp on Bear Pond, said his assessment rose from $41,000 in 2004 to $167,000 in 2005. He said O’Donnell and Associates, which recently revalued Hartford property, only used recent sales to assess neighboring property. He said those sales were out of line.
Frost, who owns 100 feet of shoreline, said he thinks it’s discriminatory and unfair to use so few sales to come up with assessments. He strongly urged selectmen to investigate how O’Donnell came up with the numbers for shore property.
Selectman Lee Holman said there had not been many sales in the Bear Pond area over the last year, and property sold for prices much higher than anticipated.
Linda Faunce, another Bear Pond resident, said when she retired from teaching she decided to fix up her camp for a permanent residence, but her increase in taxes from $1,300 to $3,600 would make it difficult to keep her home.
Selectman Laura Marston said she would call O’Donnell to discuss the situation.
In other news, the board asked Town Clerk Zoe Cowett to send a certified letter to former Selectman Scott Swain seeking repayment of salary. The money had been due April 1.
Swain himself had drafted a policy that said anyone not fulfilling a term would pay the town money not due them within 30 days. Swain resigned from the board March 3.
Selectmen also discussed the need to draft a policy for returned checks. Cowett said she had four checks that didn’t clear the bank. She was told by selectmen to send certified letters.
Code Enforcement Officer Jack Plumley reported that he had been approached on the possibility of two large subdivisions on Staples Hill Road at Route 219 and Tucker Road. The site on Staples Hill could have as many as 100 sites, and lots are being sold all the way up the mountain off Tucker Road, Plumley said.
The board accepted a general assistance policy. The office will accept applications from 10 a.m. to noon Wednesdays. Director Lee Holman will accept emergency applications 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
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