Date: Fri 07-Jun-1996

Publication: Bee

Author: KAAREN

Quick Words:

council-tax-rate

Full Text:

Council Sets The Tax Rate

B Y K AAREN V ALENTA

Legislative Council Wednesday night set the 1996-97 tax rate at 25 mills -

with one big "if."

If the $29 million school expansion proposals, approved at a town meeting this

week, are petitioned to a referendum and defeated, the council will act to set

a new, lower, mill rate.

The council also directed that tax bills not be mailed until the issue is

settled. The billing process takes about two weeks, however, and Council

President Joseph Mahoney said it will come very close to the start of the new

fiscal year on July 1.

"Several years ago we had a series of referendums when the budget was

defeated," he said. "That went into July and - because people have 30 days to

pay their taxes - the town had to do temporary financing to pay its bills."

The council decided to set the mill rate based on the action at the town

meeting because there was no way to foresee whether a referendum will take

place or what its outcome would be. Some petitions were picked up at the town

clerk's office Tuesday by residents who want to force a referendum. They have

until next Monday to collect the required 580 valid signatures. If that

occurs, the referendum probably would take place on June 19.

The $24,922,000 high school project amounts to just under 1 mill (actually .97

mill) of the new tax rate. For a property assessed at $100,000, the impact on

the annual tax rate is $97.

The $4,183,000 approved for the Hawley School project amounts to .18 mill, or

$18 a year for a $100,000 assessment.