MECHANIC FALLS — Councilors signed a letter Monday asking the RSU 16 board for a formal review of the district’s school funding formula.

“The current formula does not offer a whole lot of financial stability for the three towns,” Town Manager John Hawley said.

He said that in each of the three years of the new district’s existence, one town or another has experienced quite a fluctuation in its assessment.

This year, if the proposed $18.5 million budget is approved in a referendum next week, all three towns will see increases in what they have to pay, with Mechanic Falls assessment taking a jump.

School officials have estimated that the taxes on a Mechanic Falls property valued at $100,000 would go up by $86.36. In Minot, the taxes on property valued at $100,000 would increase by $55.48; in Poland, the taxes would only increase by $6.20 on a $100,000 property.

The funding formula is scheduled for a review in a couple of years, but Hawley told councilors they had the ability to request a review prior to the automatic review, if they so choose.

In other business, the council agreed to Mechanic Falls Historical Society President Eriks Petersons’ request that the society be allowed to sell some of the old pews in its headquarters in the former Congregational Church on Elm Street.

Petersons said the society had recently acquired some glass display cases and would like to install them in the rear portion of the sanctuary on the second floor.

Petersons noted that church pews are a marketable commodity and said proceeds would be put toward renovating the building.

He said three of the nine rows of pews would be sold.

Petersons also announced that in another fundraising move, the society is offering for sale reproductions of old postcards depicting scenes from the town.

The postcards are available at the town office and the town library.

The town council also directed Hawley to prepare an amendment to the town ordinance that would ban setting up voluntary toll booths in town.

Hawley said such fundraising activities used to be considered illegal, but apparently there is now a matter of local rule and towns with their own police departments may choose to allow voluntary toll booths.

Councilors balked at the idea, citing potential liability problems.

Hawley said police Chief Jeff Goss advised against the practice.

The council agreed to hold a public hearing at its June meeting to hear from residents before enacting an amendment to town ordinances.

Hawley also told the council that legal efforts to evict residents from the building at 34 Lewiston St. had been initiated and the process was under appeal. He said he hopes the building would be cleared by the June meeting.

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