LITTLETON, Maine — Taxpayers in Littleton will see an increase in their property tax bills later this summer, but the exact amount of the increase remains to be seen.
A group of 20 residents approved an $873,261.99 spending budget for the town of Littleton Monday evening that will cause the increase in tax assessments. Max Lynds served as moderator for Monday night’s meeting, which lasted just 25 minutes.
According to Town Manager Courtney Toby, the tax rate will not be finalized until both the SAD 29 budget and Aroostook County budgets are finalized. However, based on Monday night’s approved budget, which is up $5,639.46, tax payers can expect to see the mill rate increase by 1.5 mills on the municipal side.
“The increase is primarily due to an increase in the disposal fee per ton for solid waste and the increase to the fire department account for training our fire fighters,” Toby said.
A decrease in revenue sharing figures is also a contributing factor for the increase.
Toby said the school (SAD 29) budget will not be available until June, but preliminary indications are Littleton’s share of the overall budget will increase by $33,000, which would increase the tax rate by another mill, bringing the total tax increase to about 2.5 mills.
“Usually, tax bills come out in June, but last year, it was the middle of July,” Toby said.
Littleton currently has a mill rate of 15, which means a house assessed at $100,000 has a tax bill of $1,500. If the town’s mill rate increases by 2.5 mills, that same house would receive a tax bill of $1,750 — and increase of $250.
Toby said a town-wide revaluation may also be in the works.
Resident Sandra Henderson questioned Selectmen on why the solid waste budget featured an increase of $2,300.
According to Toby, the increase to the town’s Solid Waste budget was due to an increase in the amount of garbage being disposed of by residents. Last year, the town spent $74,500 to operate a solid waste facility, based on 75 tons of garbage being disposed. However, the actual amount of garbage disposed of totaled 79.25 tons, thus the budget for the Solid Waste Facility was increased to $76,800.
An increase in the town’s Fire Protection account was also discussed briefly. Selectmen recommended $20,000 for fire protection this year, an increase of $3,500.
Board chairman Gerry Miller said the increase was due to additional training that was required for firefighters.
The town’s recreation budget saw a decrease of $725 to $3,100. Toby said the decrease was due to new swimming instructors the town employed at a cheaper rate.
At the polls
Voter turnout at the polls was more than double from a year ago, according to Toby. A total of 80 residents voted at the polls for the purpose of electing two new members to the Board of Selectmen. Incumbent Gordon Hagerman and newcomers Dana Johnson and Colby Shaw were each seeking one of the two available seats. Hagerman and Shaw were elected. The actual votes for each of the candidates were not reported.
“It was a very close race with Gordon and Colby winning,” Toby said. “They [selectmen] have never reported actual [voting] numbers in 20 years.”
With the election of Hagerman and Shaw, the town bid a fond farewell to Miller, who stepped down from the board of selectmen after 23 years of service. (See accompanying story.)
“I’d like to thank the citizens of Littleton for keeping me here as long as they did,” Miller said. “It’s been my pleasure to serve you. I highly recommend to everybody.”
