LIVERMORE — The Livermore Board of Selectpersons voted Monday night to use $150,000 in undesignated funds to reduce the tax burden on property owners.
The move allowed the board to reduce the property tax rate by $1, bringing it to $15.25 per $1,000 of assessed value.
At that rate, the annual tax on a property valued at $150,000 would be about $2,288.
Members of the board made their decision after Assessor Paul Binette shared options for what they could do to control local property taxes.
“Setting the tax rate is a two-fold process,” Binette said. “Do you want to use moneys from the undesignated fund balance to offset the tax rate?”
He said using $100,000 from the undesignated fund would drop the tax rate to between $15.55 and $15.80, while taking $200,000 from the fund would drop the tax rate to about $15.
“Available is about $650,000 to use to reduce the tax burden at your discretion,” Binette said.
To a question from Selectperson Scott Richmond about the state cutting revenue sharing, Binette said: “It’s already been cut. In March, Maine Revenue Service provided $203,000 for Livermore. On Aug. 8, they reduced that to $179,000, about a $24,000 downfall.”
He said the decrease was likely attributable to decreases in fuel and lodging taxes.
Binette told the board a townwide revaluation this year has increased the taxable value of properties in Livermore by about 12%.
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