Edgecomb Town Meeting: Assessing error leads to tax spike
STUART SMITH, Edgecomb selectman, explains how an assessing error created a shortfall of sorts in the budget. The Edgecomb voters approved taking money from the surplus account to cover the expenses during the Saturday, May 17 town meeting. BEN BULKELEY/Wiscasset Newspaper
STUART SMITH, Edgecomb selectman, explains how an assessing error created a shortfall of sorts in the budget. The Edgecomb voters approved taking money from the surplus account to cover the expenses during the Saturday, May 17 town meeting. BEN BULKELEY/Wiscasset Newspaper
An assessing error will cost Edgecomb taxpayers approximately two dollars per $1,000 of assessed value in the coming year.
During the Saturday, May 17 Edgecomb town meeting it was further revealed that an assessing error related to the excise tax and how that money is budgeted, cost the town approximately $203,000 in 2012-13 and another $234,000 in 2013-14.
Because the town will have to dip into its surplus, which had been earmarked to lower property taxes, the tax rate will likely climb from approximately $13.15 per $1,000 of assessed value to $15.15 per $1,000, town selectman Stuart Smith said.
“Our town auditor looked through it and found the error,” he said. “We didn't spend any more, but we just didn't collect enough.
“This year, the taxes will go up, because usually we take $100,000 from the surplus and put that towards taxes.”
The excise tax, which covers expenses such as the snow removal contract, had been incorrectly labeled by the town's contracted assessor, which caused the disparity.
The increase in taxes won't be used to cover the disparity, Smith said; the surplus is big enough to cover that gap, but there won't be enough to help keep taxes low.
In other town meeting news, all articles, save funding for Lincoln County Television, passed. The Edgecomb budget committee recommended not funding LCTV, which had asked for $2,339 for the upcoming year.
The town also doubled its contribution to both the Boothbay Harbor Memorial Library and Wiscasset Public Library from $2,000 apiece up to $4,000, after library treasurer Tom Boudin asked for the full $13,677 total for both libraries.
The town also agreed to the $2.48 million school budget.
For the Friday, May 16 closed ballot portion (in which all races were uncontested), Jack Sarmanian was reelected selectman with 28 votes, David Nutt received 20 write-in votes to remain on the planning board, Deb Boucher received 31 votes for tax collector, Casandra Fabiano received 31 votes for school board, Scott Griffin received 31 votes for road commissioner and Claudia Coffin remained the town clerk with 32 votes.
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