LIVERMORE FALLS — Selectmen will hold a special town meeting at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Town Office for voters to consider using $100,000 from the undesignated fund balance to offset a tax rate increase this year.
Board members on the joint sewer committee with Jay will also give an update on progress for a new interlocal agreement between the towns during the regular meeting that follows the town meeting. Jay is having all its sewage treated at Livermore Falls Treatment Plant.
The tax rate will also be set for 2020-21.
The rate for 2019-20 was set at $22.60 per $1,000 of assessed valuation, an increase of $1 from the previous year.
Residents voted last year to use $150,000 from the undesignated fund to offset more of a tax increase. The homestead exemption has increased this year to $25,000 while last year’s exemption was $20,000.
The homestead exemption provides property tax relief for individuals who have owned homestead property in Maine for at least 12 months and make the property they occupy April 1 their permanent residence, according to a state website.
Even if voters approve using $100,000 from the town’s undesignated fund balance, which is a little more than $1.9 million, the rate is expected to increase.
Property owners who qualify for the homestead exemption are expected to see a decrease in their tax bills.
As for the interlocal agreement, Livermore Falls selectmen and Jay selectpersons voted in July to use up to $10,000 from a joint reserve account for the treatment plant to hire an attorney to work on a new pact. The committee has been exploring options for further collaboration of Jay and Livermore Falls sewer departments’ workforce. Each town has a separate department and employees.
Livermore Falls owns the treatment plant and both towns split the cost of operation and maintenance based on the amount of sewage treated at the plant. This year, Jay is paying 58.2% and Livermore Falls is paying 41.8%.
The sewer committee is made up of interim Town Manager Amanda Allen, Selectmen Rod Heikkinen and Heather Bronish, and Sewer Superintendent Greg Given for Livermore Falls. Committee members for Jay are Town Manager Shiloh LaFreniere, Selectmen Tim DeMillo and Terry Bergeron, and Sewer Superintendent Mark Holt.
The attorney hired to work on the new agreement is James Katsiaficas, who also represented both towns jointly when the interlocal agreement was originally developed.
Among the options to look at is whether it is worthwhile to combine the two sewer departments and how would it work.
Before the agreement goes before voters in both towns, which is expected in November, the agreement is to be discussed with the unions representing each workforce.
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