Typically August is the month when the Select Board sets the tax rate for the year and signs the commitment.

This August proves to be no exception.

1. As projected, the tax rate for this year increased from last year’s rate of 14.5 per $1,000 valuation to 14.8 per $1,000. This represents a tax rate increase of 2% over last year’s rate. How does this calculate in dollars? If your home and land are assessed at $200,000, your taxes will increase by $60. Expect to receive the tax bills by the end of August with the due date of October 15. With increases in costs beyond the Town’s control (school assessment, cost of diesel and heating oil); we were fortunate to keep the tax rate at this level.

2. Change may best describe the events at the town office during the month of July. July is typically the month when staff take much deserved time off to enjoy the Maine summer weather (rain this year!) before gearing up for Celebrate Bowdoinham, however this July brought change along with challenges -

• Warren Hatch, our Deputy Treasurer and Tax Collector resigned effective August 1 to become the Town of Durham’s Administrative Assistant. Along with their other duties, Alison Pepin will take on the role of Deputy Treasurer and Deputy General Assistance Administrator and Pam Ross will become the Deputy Tax Collector. Also, on July 1st, the Town changed its budgetary and accounting system from Quick Books to TRIO. TRIO is a municipal program that will ultimately be easier to use and will provide us with better reporting capabilities.

• New Check Acceptance Policy – The Select Board adopted a new Check Acceptance Policy on July 29, 2008. Highlights of the policy include the following: checks will be accepted for all transactions except for payment of real estate taxes within ten (10) business days of the anticipated date of lien filing or impending foreclosure. Also, if a taxpayer has presented 2 checks which were returned for nonpayment within a six month period, the taxpayer’s check writing privileges will be suspended for one year. A $25 fee will be assessed for all returned checks.

• Check scanning at the town office will begin soon. This means that at the end of each day, checks received that day will be electronically scanned and deposited into the Town’s account. Checks written out to the Town will be debited from the check writer’s account much faster. Please make sure that you have money in your account for the check that you are writing or your check will likely be returned for insufficient funds and assessed a $25 returned check fee.

3. Home Heating Assistance Program – As reported in last month’s newsletter, fundraising has begun. Many thanks to David Reinheimer who is collecting the returnable bottles from his employer, Harriman Associates of Auburn and donating them to our Home Heating Assistance Program. So far a pickup truck load has been received! The bottles are from the employees at the architectural and engineering firm and David reports that there are more bottles to come. It is this kind of creative thinking that will help our program be a success. If you have any ideas on fundraising, please give us a call at the town office. We will gladly assist you.

4. Pam Ross, the Town Clerk reports that applications for absentee ballots have arrived for the November 4th election. You may call or come in for an application. The ballots will not be available until later in October.

5. Road Work update - The Public Works Crew is busy reconstructing South Pleasant Street in preparation for paving at the end of August. Kevin is taking requests for fill from the ditch work (up to 99 yards) – if you are interested, please call Kevin at 666-3503. The Batchelder Bridge will be replaced in August with a pre-fabricated bridge. The Batchelder Bridge is located on Batchelder Road off of Carding Machine Road near the Richmond/Bowdoinham town line. Funding for this project was approved at the June town meeting. The Brown’s Point Road has received a fresh coat of overlay care of Pike Industries.

6. No Idling Policy – The Select Board has approved a No Idling Policy for town owned vehicles as a way to conserve fuel. Exceptions are given for emergency vehicles and for when the temperature goes below 32 degrees Fahrenheit. We also ask that when visiting the town office; please refrain from keeping your vehicles running while you’re in the office doing business.

7. The Town received a $6,000 grant from Maine Department of Transportation to hire Regional Planner, Katrina Van Dusen from Midcoast Council for Business Development and Planning to assist us in drafting a Walkable Village Plan. Members of the Biking, Walking, and Paddling Committee will be helping in this endeavor. If you are interested in participating, please call Nicole Briand at 666-5531.

8. Nicole Briand, Bowdoinham’s Planner/Code Enforcement Officer is working with town representatives from Gardiner to Brunswick to develop a regional trail system. Stay tuned for more information!

9. Jack Tourtelotte, Fire Chief, would like to remind everyone that summer is a good time to clean and check your chimneys if you have burned wood in the past year or plan to in the coming year.

10. The State of Maine’s Bureau of Motor Vehicle has informed us that the annual cost to register your vehicles will increase in September. The increases are as follows:
• Registration fees for passenger vehicles increases from $25 to $35
• Fee for a vanity plate increases from $15 to $25
• Title fees increase from $23 to $30

In closing, I want to remind everyone to mark September 13th on your calendar for Celebrate Bowdoinham. This is the celebration’s 10th year. It seems like only yesterday when Kim Sparks and I set up a grill to sell hotdogs and hamburgers next to the railroad tracks while Frank Connors sold train tickets for rides to Brunswick and back. The attraction for the kids was to climb up and down the Town’s winter sand pile! Such humble beginnings!

Happy August and enjoy the rest of the summer!

Kathy Durgin-Leighton
Town Manager