LIVERMORE FALLS – Selectmen voted 3-1 Tuesday to set the tax rate at $23.95 per $1,000 of property value for 2005-06. That amount represents a decrease of 50 cents per $1,000 of property value from last year.
Selectman Russell Flagg, who voted against it, cited higher fuel costs and uncertainty over state revenue in his opposition to the $23.95 tax rate proposal.
An initial motion to set the rate at $24 per $1,000 of valuation failed 2-2. Selectmen Kenny Jacques and Russell Flagg supported it while Selectmen Julie Deschesne and Michael Collins were opposed. Selectman Bill Demaray was absent.
The new rate will give the town $81,265 in overlay that could be used for tax abatements, cover outstanding taxes until they come in and go into the town’s surplus.
It is recommended that a town have enough in surplus to cover three months of expenses in case of hard times, Town Clerk Kristal Flagg said. In that case, the town would need $900,000 in surplus; it currently has $600,000.
Flagg recommended going no lower than $23.95 tax rate, which was recommended by former Selectman Clayton Putnam. She said if they went with that amount, selectmen should leave the surplus account alone and cut spending in the future, instead of taking money from the surplus to help balance the budget. She said she felt more comfortable with the $24 tax rate.
Town assessing agent Bill Van Tuinen said the town’s total appropriation for 2005-06 is $4 million, including $151,314 in county taxes, $2.16 million for municipal operations and nearly $1.7 million for school expenses.
The maximum tax rate that could have been set was $24.50 per $1,000 of property value and the minimum was $23.33 per $1,000 of valuation.
In other business, resident and Bailey Bros. Ford dealership owner Brenda Brochu asked why she wasn’t allowed to submit a bid on a new cruiser, once the town decided to go with an outright purchase instead of lease/purchase option. She said she didn’t have a lease program.
Selectman Russell Flagg said voters rejected selectmen’s recommendation to go with a two-year lease from an Augusta Ford dealership. Instead, voters voted to buy the cruiser outright and save about $1,000.
Chief Ernest Steward Jr. said he sent out bids to nine places for a lease/purchase option because the town only had $10,000 set aside for a cruiser and would need to raise the remainder next year.
Two sealed bids were submitted that included prices on both lease/purchase and outright purchases, he said.
Selectmen plan to form a committee to develop a policy on bidding so there is no confusion next time.
In other business, resident Nancy Morris said she has been dealing with a stressful and frustrating situation over taxes since 2002 that she doesn’t believe she and her husband owe. The couple sold a portion of a 5-acre parcel and kept the smaller piece of land for themselves.
She said their names have unjustly been published in the unpaid tax lists, and they have had liens placed on their property. She said if it is proved they are correct and don’t owe taxes, she wants a statement published in the town report next year stating there were administrative errors and also a note sent to the credit unit stating the same.
Jacques and Van Tuinen both said they would look into the issue to get it resolved.
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