Members Present: Rob Browne and John Melrose

Members Absent: Lauchlin Titus

Others Present: Town Manager Mary Sabins, Mary Grow, and Assessor Ellery Bane

1. Call to order – The meeting was called to order by Selectman Browne at 10:32 a.m.

2. Mil rate – Sabins began the discussion by bringing to the Board’s attention the new set of proposed mil rate options at their place settings ranging from .01540 to .01555, as prepared by the Assessor, Ellery Bane. The set of mil rate options distributed to the Board last week included some homestead exemptions that needed to be removed as the homeowner had moved out of town. The change in homestead exemptions did not affect the proposed mil rate; rather, it increased the amount of overlay by about $800 for each mil rate choice. Discussion about overlay was given and it was explained that the overlay was used as a cushion in the budget for any abatements given, and to increase the town’s undesignated fund balance. Customarily, the Town of Vassalboro chooses an annual mil rate that provides an overlay of about $25,000. After discussion, and on a motion made by J. Melrose, seconded by R. Browne, the Board voted unanimously to approve and set the mil rate of .015450, with an overlay of $26,622.26. Sabins then explained that the 2018 tax commitment will be finalized by the Assessor on August 14, 2018, with tax bills being mailed out within the next few days. The first of four tax payments is due Monday, September 24th, which will help the town’s cash flow to make paving and County tax payments in a timely manner in the fall.

3. Treasurer’s Warrants – On a motion made by J. Melrose, seconded by R. Browne, the Board voted unanimously to approve payroll warrant #8.

4. Other – 1. Sabins informed the Board that the Certificate of Investment Deposit at Key Bank that was voted by the Board at the last meeting did not work out as expected. Wrong investment rate information was given to Sabins by an undertrained bank employee, and when the error was discovered, the check was returned to the Town. After discussion on different investment options, and on a motion made by J. Melrose, seconded by R. Browne, the Board voted unanimously to reinvest the $50K at the Credit Union for the best rate offered around the term length of 18 months.

5. Adjourn – There being no further business to discuss, the meeting was adjourned at 10:45 a.m.
/mss

These minutes were read and accepted by the Select Board on 8/23/18 with the following amendments: None.