RANGELEY — Rangeley property owners will face delayed tax bills this year as the town wraps up a property revaluation, Town Manager Joe Roach announced Monday.
The announcement topped a busy Board of Selectmen meeting that also saw the seating of a new board member and a shift in leadership.
Shelly Lowell joined the board as its newest member, while Ethan Shaffer took over as chairman and Sam White as vice chairman.
Roach noted that while the town typically commits taxes in mid-July and mails bills in early August, officials will use a traditional 30-day grace period this year to post commitment information online, ideally before the Sept. 1 due date.
Roach said the townwide revaluation is “pretty well completed.” The next steps include holding public hearings, mailing estimated tax notices to property owners and arranging meetings between residents and the assessor.
To ensure the public stays informed, the town plans to use social media to notify residents about the adjusted timeline for the tax bills.
Assessors are scheduled to meet with the Board of Selectmen during an Aug. 19 workshop to discuss and set the property tax rate, also called the mill rate.
Roach said he expects the new property valuations to increase the full homestead exemption for taxpayers to $25,000, up from $17,000 last year.
The board also finalized a two-part warrant article for the purchase of a new police interceptor to replace a 2017 cruiser. Instead of a single question, the ballot will ask voters two separate questions: first, whether the town should purchase a replacement vehicle, and second, if approved, whether the town should fund it from the unassigned fund balance.
During the meeting, Chris Farmer spoke for the Sargent Family Foundation regarding a technical malfunction that interrupted the July 3 fireworks show.
In a press release sent Tuesday, Roach explained that the display was “set up using an electronic firing system.”
“As the show began and shells were launched in sequence, some shells pulled firing wires that were connected to other shells,” Roach said. “This caused the computer system to incorrectly register that all shells had been fired, even though a number of shells remained unfired on the barges.”
Roach said fireworks technicians from Central Maine Pyrotechnics noticed visible fuses inside the mortar tubes. Technicians then inspected the tubes on the barges, identified the live shells, and fired them manually.
While the troubleshooting caused delays and interruptions, Roach said all “shells were ultimately fired except for three that had defective fuses due to a manufacturing issue.”
In the press release, Roach noted that Central Maine Pyrotechnics is committed to addressing the disappointment caused by the malfunction. As part of that commitment, the company agreed to provide a matching, complimentary replacement fireworks display next July 3.
The company’s owner will also oversee and manually fire next year’s show.
The board also made a number of appointments, naming Jim Ferrara, John Sannizzaro and Harold Schaetzle to the Airport Commission; James Jannace and Reid Wischnowsky to the Budget Committee; Deborah L. Ladd to the Regional School Unit 78 board of directors; Katelyn Cerminara, Alexandra Kaiser, Michelle Laliberte and Carina Pathiakis to the Community Development Advisory Committee; and Shelly Lowell to the Comprehensive Plan Implementation Committee.
Additionally, the board appointed Roach as manager of the Stephen A. Bean Municipal Airport and Robert J. Duplisea Jr. as an assessor.
While voters elect some positions at the annual town meeting, the Board of Selectmen fills others by appointment. If a seat remains vacant after the town meeting election, the Board of Selectmen retains the authority to appoint someone to fill the position.
The five-member Board of Selectmen meets on the first and third Monday of each month. Future meetings are scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m. instead of 5 p.m.
Correction: This story was updated July 8 to correct the spelling of Carina Pathiakis.
