FARMINGTON – Selectmen appointed an interim SAD 9 school director Tuesday and also voted to write off nearly $13,000 in back personal-property taxes and interest.
The board unanimously approved the application of Yvette Robinson, a chiropractor and mother of two sons, to serve as SAD 9 director until March’s town meeting.
Robinson, the wife of Assistant District Attorney Andrew Robinson, told selectmen she has lived in Farmington for seven years. Her older son starts kindergarten this year, she said, and she thought this was a good time to get involved.
“I decided long ago that I wanted to find a way to provide support for SAD 9, so that every child in this district can continue to have the best education we can provide,” Robinson stated in a letter to the board.
She said she has an interest in allowing the schools to continue as they are and to improve if possible.
The board also had an update from Treasurer/Finance Director Diana Young on the status of collection of personal property taxes.
“We started the collection process for personal property taxes in March of 2003,” Young said. “At the time, we had a total outstanding balance of $40,157.77. We have collected approximately $29,661.17, or 73.8 percent of that amount.
In September 2003, the town committed $440,235 of personal property taxes for collection, and of that amount $1,525.86, or 0.35 percent, remains uncollected, Young said.
The 2004 personal property taxes were committed for the amount of $427,014.74 and, as of Aug. 1, $10,193.55 or 2.4 percent remains uncollected, she said.
Various methods were used for collection, Young said, starting with reminders that are given about one year after taxes were committed, followed by additional notices and demand letters.
The town also took some business owners to small claims court, she said, and was awarded judgments of defaults on seven accounts.
The bad news, Young said, was that there were some accounts that were deemed not collectible for a variety of reasons, including the statute of limitations expiring, bankruptcy, death, and an amount being too small to pursue. In all instances the businesses are closed, she said.
Selectmen voted to write off 39 delinquent accounts from 1998 to 2003 with personal property taxes totaling $8,008.04 plus $4,983.62 in interest, for a total of $12,991.66.
In other business, selectmen voted to:
• Spend $2,300 to remove asbestos tile and glue from the police dispatch office.
• Set a special town meeting for 7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 13, at the municipal building for voters to consider amending a 2002 lease agreement between the town and the Fairbanks School Neighborhood Association Inc.
• Have a survey done to determine ownership of a granite retaining wall at the corner of Front Street and Lower Broadway. The cost will be $400 to $500.
• Spend $7,400 to buy Trio municipal software for the Town Office.
Comments are no longer available on this story