HARTFORD — Selectmen voted Thursday night to accept a recommendation by tax assessor Michael O’Donnell to raise the property tax rate next year to give the town an adequate cash reserve.
O’Donnell, of John E. O’Donnell & Associates Inc. of New Gloucester, complimented the board on keeping the municipal budget at $712,126, but he said the tax rate would have to go up to keep an adequate overlay. He recommended the tax rate be raised from $16.30 to $17.60 per $1,000 of assessed property value.
He said the Oxford County tax has gone up and the school assessment has risen 19 percent to $1,253,775, neither of which the town can control.
Regional School Union 10 representative Shawn White reported on a possible $30 million federal grant to RSU 10 and four other Maine school districts for training in the new mass customized learning method.
White said he’s not in favor of the grant because of government strings attached. He said teachers would be spending less time with students and more time in meetings and doing paperwork.
The RSU 10 board recently approved continuing with the lengthy application for Race to the Top money. RSU 10, Auburn School Department, SAD 15 in Gray/New Gloucester, RSU 3 in Unity and RSU 57 in Waterboro are filing a joint application for a share of the money over four years. RSU 10’s share would be $5 million, White said.
White urged residents to attend the RSU 10 board meeting at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 22, at Buckfield Junior-Senior High School.
Selectmen opted to call a special town meeting to vote on whether to accept the old schoolhouse that belonged to the Hartford Historical Society, which has disbanded. The deed stipulates that the building reverts to the town.
Town Clerk Lianne Bedard said the Maine Municipal Association advised that the town must vote to accept the building. No date was set for the special town meeting, which will also include a discussion on what to do with bulky waste. The Department of Environmental Protection has advised that the town must close its dump on Marble Road this fall.
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