WILTON – Final payment on the town’s revaluation will be held at least until April.

Selectmen decided Tuesday to not pay anything more until the abatement period is over, Town Manager Peter Nielsen said Wednesday. Residents have 180 days, or until April, to apply for abatements on their property valuation.

The board decided to wait to see how that goes, Nielsen said. The final payment is a 10 percent retainer on the $167,000 contract with Cole Layer Trumble of Connecticut.

After hearing from residents that the firm did not “get back to them,” Nielsen undertook a study of the 637 records of review meetings between the firm and Wilton taxpayers.

Nielsen and board Chairman Paul Gooch also met with Kevin Rake, CLT project manager, and Paul Flynn, Northeast regional manager, Tuesday prior to the board meeting. There was a “frank exchange of views,” Nielsen said, with the firm restating its belief that they had fulfilled their obligation.

From his study, Nielsen found CLT’s property values compared well with actual sales in Wilton since May, as stated in an e-mail to Flynn. But he also found simple errors, no follow through where reviewers wrote that changes would occur, unclear records, changes made without explanation and conflicting information.

Nielsen estimated the cost to the town to correct the issues will be $10,800 and told CLT that he would recommend that the board only make final payment in the amount of $5,930.

Gooch told the board the company expected full payment and did not want to budge, and said litigation is possible if the amount was not paid.

The board chose to hold the retainer and have Nielsen check with the Maine Municipal Association for guidance. The assessor will also check with the Association of Assessors for the cost of a review. Nielsen was also asked to provide CLT and the town’s attorney with an update on the board’s decision, he said.

The company could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

In other business, Nielsen said he had received a $4,000 check for the Fire Department’s old rescue truck Wednesday. That, plus $2,500 from the tanker truck sale and a donation of $500 brings the amount available for the purchase of the rescue truck voted Tuesday up to $7,000. Eight thousand will be taken from surplus, he said, leaving the amount to be raised by the Fire Department at $4,000. The sale of engine 5 would change the amount, he added.

The board also reviewed a quarterly report from police Chief Dennis Brown. Police officers responded to 5,187 calls in 2007, compared to 3,876 in 2006, he said. The department has also recovered more than $50,000 in stolen property and solved more than half of the reported 42 burglaries.

The number of assault cases rose to 77 in 2007, compared to 28 in 2006, he said. He said the figures reflect better documentation, he said.

The department is sending 10 criminal cases a week to the district attorney, he said.