OXFORD – The town should have a new police chief in the next few months but the position could mean a small property tax increase, Town Manager Michael Chammings said Tuesday.
Chammings said the goal is to hire a police chief “within three and a half months.”
It will be the first time Oxford has a salaried police chief following Ron Kugell’s retirement.
Chammings said he hopes property taxes will increase less than 2.65 percent from last year. “I’m planning for the worst and hoping for the best,” he said.
The police chief’s salary will be based on “experience and will be relevant to like-size towns,” he said. The position is expected to be advertised soon.
Kugell led the Oxford Police Department for more than 40 years as a volunteer. He was part of an all-volunteer force that was an offshoot of Civil Defense police forces from World War II.
Kugell received only a stipend, never a salary. His retirement was effective March 15.
Earlier this month, selectmen appointed Detective Lt. Jon Tibbetts, a 12-year veteran of the force, as interim police chief.
Oxford has five full-time officers including the chief’s position plus several reserve officers as well as a full-time administrative assistant.
Chammings said residents understand a tax increase may be necessary to pay a police chief. “The town has been fortunate. We’ve had a volunteer chief for a long time,” he said. “The townspeople know they have had a free ride for quite a few years.”
The town’s tax rate “flat lined” last year, he said. Last August, selectmen set the tax rate at $21.20 per $1,000 valuation, the same rate as the prior year, although the tax breakdown was different.
The year before, the $21.20 was broken into $11.66 for SAD 17, 85 cents for Oxford County, and $8.69 for the town. Last year, the school portion increased to $12.28 and the county’s portion rose to 99 cents. The town portion of $7.93 allowed the total tax rate to remain the same.
In other business, Chammings confirmed that a Dollar Tree store will soon open in the former Ames store on Route 26. The building is owned by Oxford Hills businessman Bob Bahre.
Interior construction is under way for the store.
Chammings denied recent rumors that Home Depot has filed paperwork with the town office to build a new store on Route 26 next to the Oxford County Fairgrounds, property that is also owned by Bahre. “There is no truth to that,” he said.
In regard to earth-moving equipment at the site, “I think (Bahre) is just prepping right now” for any future development, he said.
Chammings said there are drainage problems at the site and he will work with Bahre in coming weeks to address them.
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