Pushing its project ahead to sell tax-acquired properties in town, the Dresden Board of Selectmen has enlisted the services of Cromwell Coastal Properties of Wiscasset.

The board spent some time at its regular meeting on July 28 to discuss the issue, which has plagued the small rural community for several years. As of earlier this year, the total amount owed in taxes totaled $118,000.

According to the board’s discussion, the Wiscasset real estate company will be asking a price “within reason” considering the main purpose of the sale concerns retrieving the amount of taxes owed.

When the board began with its determination to end the tax deficit, it faced the prospect of having to acquire the properties of residents’ who had been delinquent in the payment of their property taxes.

Up until that time, the town had been lenient in its policy toward property owners, but that all ended with a decision last year to give them opportunity to pay what they owed the town or forfeit their property.

As part of its decision, the board allowed the owners to remain on the property until the actual sale, with the understanding that they no longer owned the property.

At a board meeting last November, selectmen said that the town has given much leeway to the delinquent taxpayers for taxes that go as far back as 1998, and until this year it did not acquire the properties.

“We’re willing to talk to somebody, but they are going to have to pay more than 50 percent down,” Chairman Phil Johnston said at that meeting.

Johnston said the most that any one resident owes totals $20,000, but the thing that concerns him most is other taxpayers have had to make up the difference for 15 years. That has remained the board policy so far.

“We’ll have to set up procedures on how we’re going to sell the properties,” he said at the November meeting. “It’s not going to be pleasant, but we’re going to have to do it.”

Residents still had and indeed have the chance to still recoup if they pay their debt to the town in full. Some have as much as $20,000 to pay off their taxes owed, according to Trudy Foss, the town’s administrative assistant.

Some people have paid off their taxes, one of which owed $19,000. So the town has received over $26,000 in such payoffs since the board’s decision to crack down on local delinquency.

Two more properties have been sold recently, since the thrust began to correct the financial situation.

Some of the properties consist of land and a couple of mobile homes. A Common Road property has a house (which the town condemned three years ago) and a mobile home on it. The house and property amount to almost $10,000 and the mobile home totals about $11,400 in taxes, according to town tax records.

The former owner of a parcel of land across from the Common Road property has about a $3,600 owed in taxes, for which the real estate company will ask a price a bit above the amount owed.

Other business

Selectmen spoke about fuel prices for the months later this year and next. Selectman Gerald Lilly will be looking into various providers for the best price.

Selectmen also discussed the cost of replacement of the skating rink shelter on the recycling center property, and signed pole permit for Common Road.