JAY – It took selectmen three motions Monday before voting 3-1 to set a 2005-06 tax rate of $15.50 per $1,000 of assessed property value. The rate is 80 cents less than it was last year.
It was a compromise between $16 recommended by Town Manager Ruth Marden and $15.14 Selectman Alan Labbe wanted.
Selectmen were unable to set a rate Thursday because three of the selectmen could not agree on a rate.
Marden said the town should be prepared due to the state of the economy, the uncertainty of jobs at International Paper if the company sells the Jay mill and outstanding taxes of $1 million owed by Androscoggin Energy LLC, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in November.
The auditor recommended that a town carry 25 percent of its budget in an undesignated fund account. The town would need $5 million. It is currently about $4.3 million.
Labbe said he didn’t think it was right to raise more money than the Budget Committee and voters were asked to raise and approved. He suggested more planning be done before the board approves the budget and sets the tax rate.
Resident Al Landry said he would like to see selectmen set the minimum rate to help senior citizens.
Marden said she understood Landry’s point, but the homestead exemption for residents owning primary residences in Jay has doubled to $13,000 this year, which will save senior citizens and others taxes.
Labbe’s motion for the $15.14 rate died for lack of second. If it had been approved, it would have given the town a $859.29 overlay.
Overlay is used to cover abatements, outstanding taxes and special town meetings, among other things.
Several seconds ticked by as selectmen studied tax rate options and calculations before Selectman Barry McDonald decided to try the $16 rate to see if another selectmen would second the motion. That would have given the town a $766,199.74 overlay.
It, too, died for lack of a second.
After more perusal of rate sheets, Selectman Rick Simoneau motioned for a rate of $15.50 per $1,000, which was seconded by McDonald. It was approved 3-1, with Labbe dissenting. That amount gives the town a $320,716.65 overlay.
In other business, selectmen informally approved sending to the Planning Board a proposal by Androscoggin Bank to build a new bank building at the Jay Plaza.
The board also voted to table several items, including limiting use of engine brakes in the Chisholm residential area after reading information from the state that questions compromise of safety and the need for an ordinance to regulate noise. Selectmen asked Marden to gather more information.
Comments are no longer available on this story