At a meeting on Tuesday, the Wilton Board of Selectpersons set up public discussions on the town’s upcoming property revaluation and all‑terrain vehicle use. The board also heard an update on its major water line project.
Board Chair David Leavitt said the town’s assessing agent, Paul Binette, requested a workshop to review the revaluation process and explain how new property values were determined.
The board scheduled the workshop for 4 p.m. Wednesday, May 13, at the Town Office. Wilton contracts with John E. O’Donnell & Associates Inc. of New Gloucester for assessing services. Binette said property owners are expected to receive revaluation notices by fall.
Binette previously told Monitor Local he expects property values in town to be “pretty close to double” current assessments.
Binette said that does not mean taxes will double. As valuations rise, tax rates typically fall, though not always enough to offset higher assessments. With town, county and school costs increasing, Wilton may see a lower tax rate that still does not fully counter the valuation jump, he said.
Wilton’s current tax rate is $21.30 per $1,000 of assessed valuation. If the town’s total valuation doubles, the rate would need to drop to about $10 or $11 to keep tax bills level.
The board also scheduled a June 10 public meeting for residents to discuss plans for an ordinance regulating ATV use on town roads. The meeting is expected to be held at Academy Hill School, pending availability. The backup date is June 17.
“We definitely want a public meeting” to hear opinions and suggestions, Leavitt said. “We’ll have a public hearing, but the ordinance will be an ordinance of the select board.”
The town previously had an ATV policy, but the board rescinded it to make way for adopting an ordinance. Leavitt said the town’s attorney advised that the board could not establish ATV routes or trails without an ordinance in place.
A policy could not be enforced, but an ordinance could, he said the attorney had advised. He also said the state law gives control over town roads and streets to the Board of Selectpersons.
Residents have disagreed with the board’s contention that it can adopt an ordinance without a townwide vote.
Nancy Merrow, who lives on McCrillis Corner Road, said she has attended several board meetings to advocate for an ordinance that would bar ATVs from major town roads, including her own. McCrillis Corner Road has a 90‑degree turn and two long hills between the Chesterville Road (Route 156) and the Livermore Falls Road (Route 133), conditions Merrow argued make ATV traffic unsafe.
Wilton has launched revaluation assessment; property values could double
After Tuesday’s meeting, Merrow said she was pleased to see the project advancing but still wants any proposed ordinance put to a public vote.
Maxine Brown, who lives on Temple Road, reminded the board that residents submitted a petition last year with 369 signatures calling for bans on ATVs on town ways. “We feel we’re being ignored by the board of selectmen,” she told members Tuesday.
Michael Parker, a resident who attended the meeting, said afterward that “the board needs to elucidate the process” for drafting an ordinance.
The board heard a report from Jim Lord of Dirigo Engineering on the progress of a nearly $8 million water line upgrade. He said the contractor has installed 14,307 feet of new treated‑water line from Doak Street to the Water Treatment Plant, though some sections still need testing and disinfection.
Crews have connected customers along Doak Street, Weld Road and Colby Miller Road; shut off the old main between Colby Miller Road and Doak Street; and installed 4,864 feet of new untreated‑water main, with about 2,936 feet left to go.
Lord said he expects the project to be completed by October.
