JAY – The select board met for a special meeting Tuesday afternoon to set the property tax rate and sewer user rate.
The board set the tax rate, approving a mil rate of 23, as compared to last year’s 20.50 mils. In an effort to keep the mil rate down, the board utilized $1.5 million from the town’s undesignated fund balance (UFB). Without this, the rate would have reached nearly 28 mils.
The paper mill closure earlier in the year had an effect on this year’s tax commitment, Town Manager Shiloh LaFreniere stated. She reported that this, along with the corresponding loss of valuation, “had a significant impact on the town’s overall valuation and the tax rate.”
For a $75,000 house tax with the Homestead Exemption, this is $1,213.25, a $188.25 increase from last year. A $100,000 house tax with a Homestead Exemption is now $1,788.25, a $250.75 increase, and a $150,000 house tax with the same exemption is $2,938.75, a $375.75 increase from last year.
On Tuesday, the board committed to have the sewer bills collected, a total of $492,452.90. The sewer rate was previously set this spring at $320 for 3,200 cubic feet of water usage and .10 cents per cubic foot over the 3,200 base amount.
