BUCKFIELD — With checks piling up at the Town Office, the Select Board appointed Town Manager John Andrews as deputy tax collector at Monday’s meeting.
The town has not had an acting tax collector since early November when Town Clerk Cindy Dunn resigned. According to state statute, Dunn is still technically the tax collector until the town audit is completed. A legal opinion from the Maine Municipal Association said the town could appoint a deputy tax collector in order to cash the checks and tax payments in the interim.
The board also appointed Andrews to be the point person between the town and the accounting firm Ron Beaulieu & Co. of Portland, which is conducting the audit. Andrews reported that the town delivered 115 pounds of materials for the audit two weekends ago.
In other business, the board appointed Deputy Town Clerk Melissa Wolf as the town’s state agent for the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife in order to be trained on the department’s online system to process hunting and fishing licenses.
The board also gave Andrews permission to enter into an agreement with Paris for mutual aid for snowplowing from Route 26 North at Paris Hill Road to High Street at Route 117.
The Select Board also approved the fire chief’s request for $6,690 for rust repair on the tanker with Allegiance Trucks in Auburn. The funds were appropriated at the Town Meeting, but required Select Board approval since the amount was more than $5,000.
Andrews reported that the town received $42,500 from the Local Roads Assistance Program and $12,738.29 from Paris for excise taxes collected for the the town while the Buckfield Town Office was closed and awaiting training by its staff.
The town will receive more than $4.4 million from the Maine Department of Transportation over the next three years for bridge and road repairs.
The board scheduled a workshop for 6:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 8, to start prioritizing more than 50 items that have been tabled since April 2019 and never resolved.
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