D-F officials set mil rate at $18.60

Stuart Hedstrom
Staff Writer

DOVER-FOXCROFT — The Board of Selectmen approved a mil rate of $18.60 for every $1,000 in assessed property for the 2015-16 fiscal year during a July 13 meeting. The tax rate represents an increase of 35 cents from the previous year’s figure of $18.25.

“The good news is when we go through the budget process we have to start with some assumptions,” Town Manager Jack Clukey said, with a projection for the community’s portion of the RSU 68 spending plan one such assumption. “It’s an increase, it’s just less of an increase than we thought.”

An approximate $145,000 rise in Dover-Foxcroft’s share of the school budget turned out to be an increase of just under $70,500, meaning the mil rate rose to $18.60 instead of $18.95.

The assessments for Dover-Foxcroft, such as the municipal and RSU 68 budgets, county tax and overlay, together total slightly more than $7,558,000 or about $300,000 more than 2014-15. After the $1,940,000 in deductions, the net assessment for commitment is a little more than $5,617,500 or an increase of about $152,000 from last year.

In other business, town officials met with State Rep. Norm Higgins (R-Dover-Foxcroft) for an update from Augusta. “I supported and voted for the state budget,” Higgins said, saying there are components he would cherry pick out if he could but overall the spending plan is good for Piscataquis County.

Higgins said  $62.5 million for municipal revenue sharing will be in each of the next two years’ budgets, the same total as was previously included. He said the Homestead Exemption will be rising from $10,000 to $15,000 next year and then to $20,000 the year after.

“I think that’s good for homeowners and something that’s the most important part of the budget from my perspective,” Higgins said.

A bill of Higgins to amend the Maine Uniform Building and Energy Code (MUBEC) was not approved, with one vote being turned down by 10 votes and a vote on another revised bill tying at 72 and therefore not being enacted. Higgins first sought to create an opt out of the code for municipalities with populations under 10,000 and then a second bill with the town size reduced to 5,000.

Dover-Foxcroft officials had previously talked with Higgins about the MUBEC and its impact as the town falls over the resident threshold but surrounding communities with smaller populations are all exempt. “I would guess you are not going to see this for two years,” Higgins said as bills that fail cannot be resubmitted in the ensuing session.

Two bills of Higgins were passed, with one allowing Moosehead Hydro to apply to participate in the renewable energy program. The second bill enables municipalities to be able to apply for planning grants regarding established broadband Internet infrastructure, with funding for projects being the second program phase.

Higgins said he, State Sen. Paul Davis (R-Sangerville) and State Rep. Paul Stearns (R-Guilford) have had a number of conversations with state officials concerning Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) offerings in Piscataquis County. Davis put in a resolve requiring a DHHS public hearing to take place in the region within the next six months, and Higgins said this would likely be held in the fall.

Clukey said the first of two phases of work to update Dover-Foxcroft’s Comprehensive Plan have been completed. “Over the past year we have been working with (consultant) Gwen Hilton on the comprehensive plan,” Clukey said. “I think she has been very diligent in updating the assets of the town and the statistical information.”

“Now we come to the policy point and we are going to need all the help we can get,” Paul Matulis of the comprehensive plan committee said. “We want to know how people feel about it before we make any recommendations,” he said, mentioning zoning as one area where feedback is needed.

Over the next year-plus will be several public meetings — all of the committee meetings are open for all to attend — on the comprehensive plan updates. The finalized document is scheduled to be voted on in November of 2016.

In his town manager’s report, Clukey touched upon a number of items. “One of the things we talked about in the budget process is we didn’t have a big piece for road improvements in the budget,” he said.

Requests for proposals have been sent out for a pavement assessment and management plan, and the selectmen should have a recommendation on a proposal for the Aug. 17 meeting.

Clukey said he recently met with a heating system engineer to look at what is in place at the Morton Avenue Municipal Building. Clukey said the engineer will offer some efficiency calculations and cost savings associated with switching to hot water from steam.

“Jonathan Arnold is planning to be in town much of the week leading up to Aug. 1,” Clukey said about the developer of the Riverfront Redevelopment property. A ribbon-cutting event is planned to coincide with Homecoming on Saturday, Aug. 1, time to be determined.

The 2015 Dover-Foxcroft Shiretown Homecoming will not include a parade or street festival, these are being planned to return in 2017 to coincide with the 95th anniversary of the merger of Dover and Foxcroft, but will feature a beach party and fireworks over Sebec Lake along with Foxcroft Academy’s events for Alumni Weekend.

Clukey said the downtown committee is planning a cookout on Aug. 1 in Union Square between the fire station and Shiretown Pizza. He said on the Fourth of July the committee held a sing-along at this location with 13 participants attending “in an effort to support a vital and inviting downtown area.”