JAY – Selectmen and School Committee members will hold a public hearing Monday on a combined $16 million spending package for 2007-2008.

The municipal portion of the budget is a proposed $5.8 million, and the school portion is $9.96 million.

There is also a request for $79,760 for Jay’s share of the SAD 36/Jay Adult Education Program.

The hearing is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. Monday at the Jay Middle School cafeteria.

Following the hearing, selectmen will hold their regular meeting before shifting into their role as town assessors.

The assessors will consider a tax-abatement request from the former owners of Androscoggin Energy LLC, a power plant now owned by Verso Paper, at the Androscoggin Mill site.

Townspeople voted in November to transfer up to $150,000 from the town’s undesignated fund account to the legal services account to cover expenses for the town to defend itself in a valuation dispute with former owners of the natural gas-fired power plant.

Androscoggin Energy LLC filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in November 2004 and idled the plant at the same time.

It then filed a lawsuit against the town in bankruptcy court claiming the town overvalued the power plant in 2004 and 2005. At stake is about $3.3 million in taxes. A bankruptcy judge asked the town to obtain a 2004 appraisal of the plant.

The plant was valued by the town at more than $114 million for 2004-05, and over $117 million in 2005-06. Jay assessed the company nearly $1.9 million in taxes in fiscal year 2004-05, and $1.8 million in taxes in fiscal year 2005-06.

Androscoggin Energy claims the plant should have been valued at $10 million for each of those tax years. The company also claims other gas plants decreased in value during those years.

Jay based its valuation of the plant on information Androscoggin Energy submitted to the town as of April 1, 2004, and April 1, 2005.