Group: Lisbon Council

Met: Tuesday night

Tax rate

Scoop: Councilors set the 2007-08 tax rate at $23.75 per $1,000 assessed property value. That’s 50 cents more than last year. “This is good news for the taxpayers,” Town Manager Curtis Lunt said. He attributed the drop to more state revenue sharing and state aid for education; $3 million in new town valuations as well as budgets that were held tight by town departments. Each $375,000 raised adds $1 to the tax rate.

Truck leases

Scoop: Morrison and Sylvester was awarded the contract for a five-year purchase/lease agreement to provide a cab and chassis for public works on its low bid of $62,460; and to provide a stainless steel body and spreader at a cost of $55,340.

Auburn Motor Sales was awarded the contract for a three-year lease/purchase of a three-quarter ton pickup truck with utility body and plow for the sewer department on its bid of $28,986.

Carry over

Scoop: Voted to approve carrying forward $179,000 from the 2006-07 budget for several projects still in progress.

Reappointments OK’d

Scoop: Councilors confirmed the reappointments of tax assessor Gerry Samson and Rodney Moody as finance director and deputy treasurer.

James Gurney Jr. and Richard Golden were appointed to three-year terms on the library governing board; and Patrick Austin and Steve Curtis to three-year terms on the recreation committee.

Also Community Development Director Jennifer Stowell Norris to the AVCOG executive committee; and council chairman Janet Henry to the AVCOG general assembly.

Up next: Councilors agreed to a recommendation by Lunt that a committee be formed to review tax assessing and the need for a revaluation. This would be a “focus group” and would include citizens, Lunt said. The last townwide revaluation was done in 1989.

– Connie Footman