CHESTERVILLE — At annual town meeting Monday night, March 18, voters vetoed a tax discount, amended two articles and asked questions about several others.

Voters opposed a 3% discount for paying taxes in full within 30 days of receiving the bill. If approved, $46,000 from taxation would have been needed to cover the discount’s cost.

Resident Ira Hall shared figures he had researched, was speaking neither for nor against the proposal. He said the discount would cost him $12.89 in additional taxes. He would get back $88.44 if his taxes were paid within 30 days. Similarly, Central Maine Power’s taxes would go up $237, gets back $1,626, he noted.

For most residents it is a good deal, the average return is about $40, Hall said. He wasn’t sure his elderly neighbor could pay her taxes in time to receive the discount.

“People who can’t pay their taxes are going to pay a higher rate, get hit with an additional cost,” Selectperson Tim LeSiege said. “It hurts me if we vote it down. I am trying to do the right thing for everyone in town.”

The bottom line is it will add $46,000 to the town’s budget, he added.

The top four taxpayers combined are paid $3,176 for the discount, Hall stated.

Resident Edward Hastings IV supports the discount, said it is a motivation to pay taxes on time.

When asked, Treasurer Erin Norton said a tax anticipation note [to cover expenses until taxes start coming in] has not been needed since 2016.

She said there was no trouble paying expenses after the discount was discontinued last year [for the first time]. There was some confusion over when school and county taxes were due, she noted. Expenses were paid even though more taxpayers waited to the last minute to pay without the discount, she stated. The town never dipped below $400,000 last year, she added.

Hall suggested looking into a flat amount for payment of taxes within the first month, perhaps $50. “It is fairer to give a flat rate rather than a percentage,” he said.

In one amendment, the amount of interest on taxes paid after the due date was lowered from 8.5% to 5.5%.

“That is an amount that we have the ability to control,” Hastings said. “This is what we are passing on to our fellow residents who can’t afford to pay their taxes. If we modify that down to 5.5% that would be a little bit generous, but still be an incentive for them to come in and pay their taxes.”

When asked, Norton said the state sets the maximum rate at 8.5%, towns can lower it.

In another amendment, Federal Emergency Management Agency reimbursement monies received in 2024 for storm damage appropriations for capital roads and road maintenance were changed from 75% for capital roads and 25% for road maintenance to 50% for each.

Hastings moved to amend the amounts. There are a lot more categories under road maintenance than capital roads, he said. It gives flexibility to the future Select Board, they can decide to put some of the money towards paving under road maintenance, he noted.

“To my knowledge the Select Board can’t move money from one account to another,” LeSiege said.

Norton said it would be spending money to do the same thing, the board has the authority to do that.

Resident Scott Gray asked if some of that money would be used for a crusher to grind material from the town’s gravel pit. It will save on trucking, would be right in town, he noted.

That was the purpose of the article being split up, Selectperson Eric Hilton said. Road Foreman Clayton Tibbetts stressed that some of that money be allocated for crushing material the town has, Hilton stated. “That is going to last us for years,” he noted.

It depends on if FEMA monies are received, Town Clerk Melissa Letarte said. FEMA is still working on the December 2022 storm, is four storms behind, she noted. “They want to pay the money out as quick as they can,” she stated. “It’s just going to be a little while.”

All money spent to take care of storm damage this year came out of the Public Works budget, Tibbetts said. Gravel was taken out of the town, he noted.

“In the future us having our own gravel is going to be a real big savings,” Tibbetts said. One and a half inch crushed gravel will pack harder, bind better on shoulders, give better drainage, he stated.

Rip rap, four inch rock or larger can be gotten to put in ditches, Gray noted. “It is all part of making our roads last,” he said. “Roads are the most expensive thing in our town.”

On the purchase of a Hurst extrication tool [jaws of life] there was discussion on why the Budget Committee recommended $15,000 and the Select Board $30,000 before the higher amount was approved.

Budget Committee member David Gray said initially it was thought the tool would cost $50,000, after research the cost of good used ones was about $10,000.

LeSiege used a mechanics’ tools to explain the differences in prices. He said the whole tool set from Hurst was more than $52,000 while $15,000 would only provide one piece of the set.

Fire Chief Nickolas Wills said the current tool is outdated, a power set is being borrowed from New Sharon. With $30,000 the department could put together something that would function, he noted.

A new Chesterville resident who is on the Farmington Fire Rescue Department said Farmington doesn’t automatically get called out for Chesterville, that an accurate assessment can’t be made until emergency workers are at the scene. “Time is of the essence,” he said, as is “having the right tool for the right job.”

Responders can’t be sitting there waiting, a price can’t be put on it, one resident stated.

The plan is to purchase a new tool, LeSiege said.

Discussion also arose regarding applying for a Congressionally Directed Spending grant to purchase a new, fully equipped firetruck.

There must be a guarantee from the town that it will pay its share of the cost, LeSiege said. If the grant is approved, the town would be getting a $1.2 million truck for $300,000, he stated.

Engine 1 does not meet National Fire Protection Agency requirements, Wills said. If a truck is more than 25 years old and something happens, the town is going to pay dearly for it, he noted.

One resident noted the many farms and woodland in town. If the town is out of a truck, it takes longer to put a fire out, she said. When that moment happens, the equipment has to be available, she added.

In another matter, there were questions on how to proceed regarding the article on raising the town’s tax levy limit.

Lambert moved to take no action as the budget, even if all higher amounts recommended were approved looked to be smaller than last year. American Rescue Plan Act funds were included in last year’s budget, would be taken up at a later special town meeting, she noted. Taking no action now would allow for a future vote if one were needed then, she stated.

At special town meetings there are three to five people, versus the number at annual town meeting, Hastings said.

Taking no action leaves the current limit in place, one resident noted.

In effect, it would be tabling it, LeSiege stated.

It can be voted on at a future meeting, Scott Gray said. “Taking no action doesn’t get rid of it,” he added.

Taking no action was approved by written vote: 36 yes, 17 no.

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