RUMFORD — The Board of Selectmen voted 5-0 Monday evening to maintain the property tax rate at $22.18 per $1,000 of assessed value.
Chairman Chris Brennick, Theresa Sax, James Theriault, Frank DiConzo and John Pepin attended the meeting with the Board of Assessors in the Rumford Falls Auditorium.
Town Manager Stacy Carter said in order to keep the same rate they had to include $200,000 of the $300,000 in the overlay account. “Overlay is used in case of an extreme abatement,” he said.
“We’re still financially secure,” he said Tuesday.
The property tax rate had dropped the previous three years following the revaluation in 2020, including a decrease of 27 cents last year.
Carter said the rate keeps the fund balance at a level so the town can pay two months worth of bills in case of a catastrophic event.
The town manager also reviewed some of the factors that went into determining this tax rate.
“We did have some increase in valuation, which we kind of expected with the projects that were going on,” he said. The value of the paper mill decreased, some of which was made up by the power plant with its new battery project, he said.
“What we had to contend with was a pretty high municipal budget because the inflation rate was unprecedented,” Carter said. “To keep salaries comparable and to keep employees, we made a decision to increase salaries. And with the cost of goods due to inflation pushed the budget up by $880,000.”
He said the Regional School Unit 10 budget increased and Rumford’s share of the county budget was down.
Rumford’s undesignated fund balance dropped to $2.2 million from $2.371 million last year because voters approved taking $400,000 to cover the overage for building the new Central Fire Station.
The board voted unanimously that the first half of property taxes is due Nov. 15 and second half April 1, 2024, with interest to accrue starting the day after the due date.
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