WILTON — The Board of Selectmen unanimously agreed to give an Adams Street resident until May 30 to clear his yard of debris.

When Duane Pollis did not respond to requests from the town to clear his yard as directed by the town’s Property Maintenance Ordinance, the town took the issue to court last fall.

Last week, the town was notified the court ruled in its favor because Pollis did not respond to the suit, Town Manager Rhonda Irish told the board Tuesday.

Under court order, Pollis must pay the town $9,500 in fines and clear the debris within 30 days. The fines, as set in the ordinance, amount to $100 a day for 95 days. 

The order also gives the town the right to clear the debris at Pollis’ expense if he doesn’ t do it.

With winter conditions as they are, the board agreed to extend the 30 days and give Pollis until May 30 to complete the work.

In other business, police Chief Heidi Wilcox provided a quarterly report for the department.

“The crime index in Wilton is down by 44.8 percent and assaults, including domestic violence assaults, are down 23 percent,” she told the board.

The crime index is a national rating for major crimes such as murder, sexual assault or robberies, she said. The figures were from the annual report for the Uniform Crime Reporting from the Maine Department of Public Safety.

“Clearly the professional response of our officers is one factor in these very positive numbers,” she told the board.

Wilton police Officer Andrew Hardy graduated from the Maine Criminal Justice Academy in December. He ranked No. 1 for combined skills out of the 40 cadets who attended, she said.

Officer Derek Daley is at the academy for 10 more weeks and Officer Brian Lynch will attend the August class.

The department is accepting applications to replace Officer Ryan Richardson, who left employment at the end of February, she said.

abryant@sunjournal.com