HANOVER – About 20 people from this small Western Maine town whisked through and adopted a school budget and several land use questions in a 17-minute-long special town meeting Tuesday night.

Then selectmen at their regular meeting took several steps to bring building fees up to a more appropriate rate.

Town Clerk Clem Worcester said voters at the century-old former schoolhouse town hall overwhelmingly agreed to raise $400,000 for educating the town’s 40 to 45 students in either SAD 44 or SAD 43, approved the Region 9 School of Applied Technology’s $1.3 million 2007-2008 vocational budget and Hanover’s share of $15,500, and the Region 9 adult education budget of $255,000 and the town’s share of $1,600.

They also, with some discussion at the public hearing that preceded the special town meeting, approved raising $5,325 to be matched with a state grant of almost $16,000 to update the decades-old comprehensive plan.

At the following board meeting, Worcester said selectmen will appoint a citizen committee of up to 12 people to work with Androscoggin Valley Council of Governments on the revision of the comprehensive plan.

Residents also adopted an updated floodplain ordinance that will allow property owners to purchase flood insurance. Many year-round and summer residents own cottages or homes along Howard Pond.

A new ordinance that outlines requirements for the construction of driveways was also adopted.

Much of the selectmen’s meeting dealt with land use ordinances and construction fees.

Worcester said most of the fees hadn’t been raised in at least 30 years. Some of the highlights include at least a doubling of building permit fees for dwellings to $50, plus 20 cents per square foot; permits for nondwelling units, such as decks and garages, were increased to $25 and 10 cents per square foot; demolition permits went to $25 plus 10 cents a square foot; plumbing to $9 for each unit such as a toilet or sink with a minimum of $36; and septic permits to $120.

Fines for violations were doubled, tripled or quadrupled contingent upon whether the violation was for a first, second or third offense.

“There seems to be a number of dwellings and nondwellings that are being built without a permit,” he said.

Worcester said the additional money is needed to help with Planning Board costs and to help pay the salary for the code enforcement officer Hanover shares with Greenwood and Woodstock.

He said selectmen also agreed to buy a digital camera from Planning Board funds to document building violations.

“All these fees are tied in with the comprehensive plan,” he said.

The board also announced that a revaluation of properties will begin in the fall and is expected to be completed by early summer 2008. Worcester said properties are assessed at only 69 percent of market value. An emergency assessment will need to be made prior to the next tax year.