By Jodi Hausen,Staff Writer

FARMINGTON – Selectmen discussed several items Tuesday that will likely appear on the town meeting warrant in March, including the creation of drug-safe zones in town.

The annual town meeting will be held March 13.

Town Manager Richard Davis said selectmen are very supportive of creating three drug-free zones that would garner elevated charges for anyone found selling drugs in them. This law automatically pertains to schools or school buses, but if voters approve selectmen’s recommendation at town meeting, Hippach Field, Meeting House Park and the Community Building would all be designated drug-free zones.

Selectmen suggested reducing the assessor’s professional services budget by $1,000. Assessor Mark Caldwell had requested $2,900, a $2,050 increase over last year’s request. He told selectmen at a previous meeting that the town’s tax maps need to be revised and that he was hoping to make that information available on the Internet.

Selectmen suggested it could hold for a year, but Davis said Wednesday that the maps were not revised this year and they should be done every year. He expects Caldwell to appeal to selectmen in a memo.

Davis said Police Chief Richard Caton III was satisfied with selectmen’s suggestion to cut $5,000 from his proposed overtime budget, which he had bumped up $18,000 from this year. He asked to appropriate $70,000 for overtime in the next fiscal year.

Selectmen also discussed reducing their special projects budget by $500. This item has hovered at around $3,000 for several years and money has been used to fund monuments and memorials but has historically stayed under budget, according to Davis.

Chairwoman Mary Wright suggested using $400 of the reduction to compensate each of the other selectmen, forgoing a raise herself. The chairman of the board currently receives $1,900 while the other four receive $1,700. The other selectmen suggested reappropriating the entire $500 to give them each a $100 raise thereby keeping the compensation differential for the leadership position at $200. Selectmen have not received a raise since at least 1999, according to Davis.

Selectmen also discussed changes to a flood-plain management ordinance that could affect about 250 landowners, Davis said. Changes include language that would require new site plans to be certified by a professional land surveyor, engineer or architect; basing flood-plain determinations on Federal Emergency Management Agency guidelines and a more comprehensive appeal process.

Selectmen will conduct a public hearing on the adoption of an emergency management ordinance on Jan. 24. The ordinance, prepared by the director of Franklin County Emergency Management, Tim Hardy, sets out a plan “to ensure the complete and efficient use of the town’s facilities and resources to combat disaster” by defining the duties of town officials during such emergencies.