LIVERMORE — The Select Board Tuesday night, Aug. 29, set the tax rate for 2023-24 at $16.25 using $75,000 from the undesignated fund balance to help lower the amount taxpayers need to provide for town operations.
The board reviewed four options before setting the tax commitment. The option chosen raises taxes 25 cents from the current rate of $16 to $16.25 per $1,000 of property valuation.
According to the worksheets reviewed, Livermore has $202.89 million total taxable valuation of real estate and $10.4 million taxable personal property, a total of $213.09 million valuation. After applicable deductions, the amount needed to be raised from property taxes is almost $3.75 million without using anything from the undesignated fund balance, the worksheets show.
“Using $75,000 from the undesignated fund balance, the tax rate would go up a quarter mil, a $16.25 rate,” Chair Mark Chretien said. “That would give an overlay of $53,393.”
Taking $50,000 from the fund balance, the tax rate would stay the same at $16.25 but the overlay would be lower at $28,393, Chretien noted. Using $25,000 from the balance, the tax rate would be $16.35 with a smaller overlay of $26,321, he stated. Taking nothing from the fund balance would see the tax rate go up half a mil to $16.50 with an overlay of $35,712, he said.
“I like taking the $75,000,” Chretien noted. “That gives us a little bit higher overlay. We know the school taxes are going up next year with Jay’s valuation going down. We had a higher overlay last year.”
When asked, Chretien said any overlay not used goes back into the general fund. The overlay is used if there are any tax abatements needed, the town’s general fund is in decent shape, he noted.
“That is the smallest increase of any town around,” Selectperson Scott Richmond said. Jay went up $2.50, I think Turner’s is $1.20, he added.
“That is really good,” Selectperson Joshua Perkins said.
Under old business, Richmond said the septic system at the Town Office/Fire Station complex was inspected, needs replacing.
Main-Land Development Consultants, Inc. in Livermore Falls will be asked to do the design, Chretien said. “They are local,” he noted. “Once we get the design, we will put it out to bid as soon as we can.”
The new system has to be installed by July 1, 2024, Richmond said.
“We ought to get it done, it’s a 1950 system and it’s got a couple of tree roots in it,” Chretien added.
In other business, Richmond said when Gavin Lovewell mowed last week he found needles on the back side of Waters’ Hill Cemetery. Lovewell is with Sunshine Pools which does the mowing for the town’s cemeteries and lawns, he noted.
The Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Office should be called so they know that people are hanging out up there, Chretien said.
“I wouldn’t sit, do anything there,” Selectperson Jeremy Emerson said. “The bugs are so bad.”
Richmond also noticed that the light hadn’t been installed yet near Brettuns Pond beach. He asked Administrative Assistant Carrie Judd to stay on it.
“The squeaky wheel gets the grease,” Richmond said.
“The squeaky wheel does get the grease,” Chretien agreed.
Chretien said he was contacted by Muriel Bowerman about the commons, a town-owned piece of land on the corner of Hathaway Hill and Crash roads. He had visited the site.
“Trees that were planted there are starting to get into the electrical lines,” he noted. The other Selectpersons could take a look at them, he said. The wires are coated, there are four trees and the electrical lines are right there, he stated.
Chretien suggested seeing how much it would cost to remove the trees, there might not be money in this year’s budget to do it. If there wasn’t, it could be budgeted for next year, he noted.
“I think if we take care of them sooner than later we will be better off,” Chretien said. When the trees were planted, they were not thinking about the lines, he stated. “We might be better off to get rid of them before we do have problems,” he added.
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