SABATTUS – Selectmen announced a tax rate of $25 per $1,000 of assessed property value Tuesday night, an increase of $1.
Part of the reason for the tax hike was the increase in the Homestead Exemption. The property tax exemption jumped from $6,500 to $13,000, and the state mandated that municipalities come up with the difference.
“We have to raise taxes to give you tax relief seeing we don’t have the businesses that Lewiston and Auburn have,” Chairman Gino Camardese said. “The good news is that the average taxpayer should not see more than a $50 to $60 increase. That’s just a dollar a week.”
In other business, the board revised the fuel surcharge, which has been straining government budgets since the 20-cent hike was adopted earlier this year.
The increase brought the diesel fuel surcharge to 25 cents. School Union 44 officials complained about the increase, saying it caused problems in the budget, which had already been adopted.
The board agreed to reduce the surcharge back to its original 5 cents, and said it would revisit the issue again in December, allowing departments enough time to factor the change into their budgets.
Selectmen also voted unanimously in favor of bringing Jeremy Petty of Winthrop onto the police force come Sept. 5. He currently serves with the Richmond Police Department and will become a Sabattus patrol officer after his obligations with Richmond are met. A 2003 graduate of the Maine Criminal Justice Academy, Petty has also had experience in corrections with Kennebec County.
This will bring the number of Sabattus patrolmen to five, an adequate number, according to Police Chief Thomas Fales. “I’m happy he is coming on board,” Fales said. “We could have really used his help this last week.”
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