Livermore Falls selectmen meet Tuesday evening at the Town Office and vote to set the property tax rate at $29.95 per $1,000 of assessed valuation. From left are Selectmen Bruce Peary, Jim Long, Chairperson William Kenniston, Jeffrey Bryant and John Barbioni. Pam Harnden/Livermore Falls Advertiser

LIVERMORE FALLS — Selectmen voted 3-2 Tuesday to set the property tax rate at $25.95 per $1,000 of assessed value for 2024-25, an increase of $1.70 and the lowest of four options.

Chairperson William Kenniston, Jeffrey Bryant and John Barbioni voted in favor; Bruce Peary and Jim Long opposed.

With the new tax rate, the owner of a $100,000 home with the homestead exemption will pay $209.06 more this year, assessing agent Paul Binette of John E. O’Donnell & Associates of New Gloucester said Tuesday.

Last year the rate was raised $1.25 over the previous year.

The budget voters approved this year has a new chart of accounts that makes it hard to determine the differences from the 2023-24 budget.

The tax rate is total town spending divided by the town’s total taxable value, Binette said.

Monies previously collected may be drawn from in order to lower the commitment, he said. “And by drawing from that and lowering our commitment, we’re allowed to lower the tax rate.”

Binette provided four options for the board to consider:

• A rate of $27.65 using nothing from the undesignated fund balance with an overlay of $21,002, an increase of $3.40.
• A rate of $26.50 using $200,000 from the fund balance with an overlay of $19,837, an increase of $2.25.
• A rate of $26.20 using $250,000 from the fund balance with an overlay of $17,359, an increase of $1.95.
• A rate of $25.95 using $300,000 from the fund balance with an overlay of $23,628, an increase of $1.70.

Binette said many senior citizens applied for the Maine Tax Stabilization program which froze their taxes in 2022 for 2023. It was intended to continue for 2024 and 2025 but the Maine Legislature did away with the law.

Those who applied to the program will see a larger rate increase this year, and there is nothing the board can do, he said.

“The state of Maine has the highest per capita of senior citizens in the United States,” Peary said. “Per capita, we have more senior citizens in the state of Maine than there are in California, Texas and Florida. So I’m sure that’s one reason why they did away with it was because they weren’t getting a whole lot of money.”

Binette confirmed the state reimbursed towns for the difference in tax revenue from the stabilization program.

The tax increase will be $2.95 per $1,000 in property valuation for those who signed up for the program, Town Manager Carrie Castonguay said.

Long asked about projections for next year with the property revaluation begun and the Central Maine Power corridor, known as  New England Clean Energy Connect, coming through.

Assessments are definitely going to rise, there will be a 100% assessment ratio where taxpayers will have the full $25,000 homestead exemption, Binette said.

Figures for random properties selling recently showed one for $390,000, which was valued at $120,000; another selling for $190,000 valued at $76,000 and one selling for $245,000 valued at $111,000, Castonguay said. “That should give you an idea why we are at 65% ratio.”

The ratio represents the difference between what the property is assessed for and its current market value.

Long checked with other towns to see the length of time they saved money for in undesignated fund balances. The average was two months, he said. During the past year, Livermore Falls fund balance only dropped below $700,000 for about a week before the tax bills were sent in October, he said. “The average in the general fund was $1.5 million throughout the year, so we have a pretty good cushion from that perspective.”

A tax rate of $25.95 would be an increase of about 7%, Long said. He preferred an increase of 2% or 3%.

Binette cautioned that with a rate that low, money would not be available in the undesignated fund next year to offset appropriations.

Last year, $400,000 was taken from the undesignated fund balance. Long’s suggestion would be to take $485,000, Castonguay said.

“Three hundred thousand is doable but pushing it,” Sharon Bailey, chairperson of the Budget Committee, said. There are some things known to be over budget, she added.

Kenniston said he doesn’t like raising taxes and would default to Binette and Castonguay because he doesn’t know the numbers. “I am OK with $300,000, any more than that makes me nervous,” he said.