Board: Sabattus Board of Selectmen

Met: Tuesday night

New backhoe

Issue: Selectmen opened a bid for a new backhoe and went with the low bid from Waterman Farm Machinery Co. of Sabattus. The new three-year contract is for $101,000, but after credit for their trade-in, the new backhoe came to $74,750.

Sorry, no mow

Issue: Public Works asked selectmen to consider hiring two youths to mow the lawns at the town office and cemetery to free up staff time.

The scoop: The board said to ask again next year.

Continuing service

Issue: Police Chief Thomas Fales and Lt. Carl Foster’s contracts were both up.

The scoop: Selectmen unanimously approved another three years for both.

New charges

The issue: Fire Chief Robert Scott asked the board to adopt new fees for service when the Sabattus Volunteer Fire Department goes out of town to help other agencies. Charges include $500 for extrication, $15 an hour for personnel and $100 an hour to use its tanker.

The scoop: The fees were approved. There won’t be any charge for helping town residents.

Coming up

Issue: Selectmen will attend a workshop with Lisbon and Durham at 7 p.m. Aug. 25 in Lisbon to talk about a 911 call center. Now, Sabattus has its own dispatcher on days and relies on the Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Office at night.

Issue: Now that the school budget is set, the town manager, selectmen and tax collector will set the tax rate at 6:30 p.m. Aug. 26 at the town office. The rate now is $14.50 per $1,000 of assessed property value.

Contact reporter Kathryn Skelton via phone at 689-2844 or via e-mail at [email protected]