MEXICO — The Board of Selectmen voted Tuesday evening to put a tax ordinance proposed by resident Albert Aniel on the warrant for the annual town meeting.
Before the vote, Selectman George Byam amended a previous motion to accept the tax ordinance to include a legal opinion by the town that would state whether or not the ordinance would take effect in 2013 or 2014.
As of April 30, Aniel’s tax ordinance states if residents vote to accept his tax ordinance, it would go into effect immediately.
“As far as I’m concerned, if this passes to vote, it takes effect immediately,” Aniel said. “It’s just like any other budget item. If it’s not voted down by the voters, the selectmen and the Budget Committee can get together, try to hash out the differences and come up with something else. There’s no reason that this cannot be done.”
Byam replied that the budget had already been set for this year, while Aniel pointed out that if the people voted the ordinance through, it would override the budget that had already been approved.
“Is there a way to reword the ordinance to let people know that this would take precedence over the budget we’ll be putting up for vote?” Selectman Byron Ouellette asked.
Town Manager John Madigan said that it’s “entirely up to whoever wrote it” to make amendments to the ordinance.
Ouellette told the board, “This has been a long time coming. It’s time to put a stop to the spending.
“I’m all in favor of this,” Ouellette said. “My name is on that petition. I really think that this is a step in the right direction for the town.”
During the April 23 selectmen’s meeting, Aniel presented his tax ordinance before the board, explaining it proposes “capping the operating cost of the town to the amount of $2,726,731, which is a 10 percent decrease in the previous year’s operating cost.”
According to the ordinance, if residents approve it at the annual town meeting in June, it would be locked in for five years.
The reason for the ordinance, Aniel said, is due to the tax increases the town has experienced in the past few years.
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- Mexico Selectman Byron Ouellette, left, resident Wesley Raynor, center, and Albert Aniel discuss the outcome of Tuesday night’s special board meeting at which selectmen unanimously voted to put Aniel’s proposed tax ordinance on the warrant for the annual town meeting in June.
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