CANTON – The Board of Selectmen on Monday night elected Wally Haynes as chairman and Jackie Conant as vice chairman for the coming year.
Conant welcomed Rick Ray, who was elected March 11.
The board also appointed Jim Diamond to director of Civil Emergency Preparedness, Teressa Haynes as animal control officer, Sherry Blanchette as municipal building janitor and Don Cummings as cemetery sexton. Selectmen plan to contact Stan Haynes for the code enforcement officer’s post, and Donna Hebert for the position of health officer.
Conant said she had contacted John O’Donnell of John O’Donnell Associates about property revaluations because several people wanted building and land values broken down rather than all lumped together. O’Donnell will meet with residents who have made appointments on March 29 and 31.
There were 38 people at the annual town meeting Saturday, and the final budget, without the school portion, was $422,736. Selectmen will set the tax rate as soon as the school budget is passed. The current rate is $23 per $1,000 assessed valuation.
Selectmen discussed the fact that the state has voted to raise the homestead exemption to $13,000 but will only fund $7,000 of it.
Board members formulated a policy concerning their pay. They decided that the base pay would remain the same, but at the end of the year, an attendance incentive would reflect the percentage of meetings each one actually attended.
It was also announced that on April 9 the American Cancer Association Relay for Life program will feature a deep-fried turkey supper with Chinese auction. The highlight of the day will be the exhibit of the Oxford County Bicentennial Quilt at the VFW Hall from 2 to 6:30 p.m. Each square represents a town in Oxford County. Other quilts will also be on display.
Selectmen will meet Wednesday, March 23.
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