Lewiston: Coalition offers tax-credit session

The Lewiston-Auburn Tax Credit Awareness Coalition will host an informational “lunch and learn” session at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 1, at City Hall. Lunch will be served at 11:30.

The earned-income tax credit is a benefit for low- and moderate-income workers, and 2005 wages could render between $339 and $4,400 in returns.

Nonprofit agency representatives who believe their employees or clients may benefit from this federal tax credit are encouraged to attend the session.

People are asked to call Dottie at 784-2951, extension 110, or send e-mail to dottie@ci.lewiston.me.us.

Reservations are requested, as an accurate head count is needed for lunch.

– Staff report
Mechanic Falls:Town revises mailbox policy

If your mailbox sits in its proper place and a plow truck this winter whacks it, the town will replace it, according to a revised Mechanic Falls policy.

Identical to the U.S. Postal Service rule, the town has set several requirements for how the mailbox needs to be positioned, though.

If the mailbox is too low or too far into the shoulder, it will not be replaced. The policy also defines some limits for the posts upon which each mailbox sits.

Wooden posts must be no larger than four inches by four inches, and those built with steel pipe must be no wider than 2 inches.

Bigger posts are considered “deadly fixed objects” and are not permitted within the town’s right of way.

The town will only replace mailboxes in the spring, with a plain metal box. Installation must be done by the homeowner.

– Dan Hartill
Lewiston: Housing program opens waiting list

The waiting list for Section 8 rental vouchers through the Lewiston Housing Authority has reopened for the first time since January 2004.

Last time the housing authority accepted new applications it got 570, according to Executive Director James Dowling. That original waiting list has dwindled to about 200, and there’s a chance not all those people still qualify, still want one or still live here.

Section 8 vouchers are intended to bridge the gap between low-income and rent for poorer families. The subsidy caps off locally at $596 for a two-bedroom apartment.

The authority has 1,082 vouchers. Between 10 and 20 typically open up each month, Dowling said.

The waiting list reopened last Wednesday. In the first two days, 246 people took applications and 176 people returned them.

Dowling said all applications received by 5 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 18, will be shuffled at random for the new waiting list. That was done to avoid long lines in the pre-dawn hours that first day, he said.

Voucher preference is given for veterans, people displaced by government projects and, in limited numbers, for domestic violence victims.

– Kathryn Skelton
Mechanic Falls: Schools watch rising fuel costs

The price of heating Elm Street School and running the town’s buses could surpass their budgets by as much as $9,000, school leaders said.

As the year goes on, they’ll be watching.

At Wednesday’s meeting, the Mechanic Falls School Committee requested monthly updates on their fuel consumption, keeping a particularly careful watch on the gauge of the elementary school’s 4,000-gallon heating oil tank.

The faster it drops, the greater the shortfall.

And it’s not just the schools. The town’s municipal fuel costs might also surpass its budget, perhaps by $18,000 or more.

Workers for the town and the school are saving money where they can. The temperature of the school may be lowered to 68 degrees. Meanwhile, reminders have gone out to city employees to cut where they can. If purchases can be put off until next year, they will be, Town Manager Dana Lee said.

If more money is needed for either group, those allocations will likely come from voters at May’s annual town meeting.

Rather than hold a special town meeting, the Town Council would likely add an article to the May meeting, asking for approval to take the needed money from the town’s savings, Lee said.

– Dan Hartill

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