BETHEL – Selectmen on Monday discussed the pros and cons of having property taxes paid in one installment instead of two in the future.
The issue was raised as the board reviewed articles being considered for the June annual town meeting warrant.
Article 4 would ask voters to fix the dates when property taxes are due. The draft article also states that selectmen recommend two equal payments, Oct. 1, 2005, and April 1, 2006.
“Some people would find it hard to pay all at once,” Selectman Stan Howe said.
But Selectman Don Bennett said the town was “certainly at a point where we need to try something.” He said short-term borrowing to pay municipal bills would be eliminated if Bethel collected the entire tax levy by Oct. 1.
Chairman Dutch Dresser guessed that the proposal for a single bill “would get massive resistance” from residents this year. But, he said, selectmen ought to prepare to “do some education about the fact that next year we’ll recommend one due date.”
Dresser also suggested promoting the idea of moving the due date from Oct. 1 to Nov. 15, which is when the town begins collecting interest on late tax payments. That would be a compromise on the annual and biannual collection strategies, he said, since residents would have an additional month and a half to pay.
Selectmen also voted to remove Article 6 from the warrant. It concerned appropriating money from the town’s undesignated fund balance to lower the tax burden. Last year, residents voted to use $400,000 for that purpose.
Town Manager Scott Cole said Tuesday that that appropriation caused the town to borrow to pay some of its expenses this year. The town’s auditor, Cole said, recommends that Bethel keep about 15 percent of its total outlay, or about $750,000, in the undesignated fund balance.
Bethel’s Budget Committee has recommended that no money be appropriated from the fund to lessen the property tax burden.
Selectmen will continue discussion of warrant articles at their meeting Monday, May 16.
A public hearing on the articles will be held at 7 p.m. May 25 in the town office building.
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