The Wiscasset Board of Selectmen began sorting out the impact of the voters’ rejection to the assessing/human resources budget Sept. 10, at the board’s meeting Sept. 17.
Wiscasset Town Manager Laurie Smith told the board due to the negative vote, Wiscasset Assessing Agent Sue Varney last day will be Friday, Sept. 20. After that date, the town will no longer have an assessing agent.
Smith said the union contract and labor laws requires the town to pay Varney $67,335 in her final paycheck, which would be next week.
Varney’s severance package includes earned vacation time, one half her sick time, and two weeks pay for each year she has worked for the town. The selectmen will hold an open town meeting Tuesday, Oct. 8, at the Wiscasset Middle School cafeteria, pending RSU 12 approval, asking for voter approval to pay Varney the severance pay. Other articles may be included on that warrant.
The selectmen will meet again Sept. 24 to discuss putting an assessing budget on the warrant. Even if the town doesn’t have an assessing agent, there is a budget needed for the operational expenses of the department. The selectmen will consider adding a smaller budget for an assessor, although this suggestion did not go well with Selectmen Judy Colby, Tim Merry and Jeff Slack.
“The voters said ‘no’ twice, I don’t believe we should ask them again,” Colby said. “No means no. We are asking the voters to pay her severance pay, then we are going to ask them to hire her back. That makes no sense to me.”
“They (the voters) want us to be the assessors,” Slack said. Merry agreed the town needs a basic assessing budget, but questioned the need to budget for a budget for an assessor.
When Selectman Ed Polewarczyk asked who would do the town’s assessing, Slack responded, “We will do it has a board.”
Selectman Pam Dunning pointed out the assessing agent position was sometimes a 50 hour a week job, that would mean each selectman would need to devote 10 hours a week to the task.
Smith suggested adding an article for additional legal funds.
Polewarczyk and Colby will meet with Varney and a representative from the State Tax Assessor’s office on Thursday for a briefing as to what the town’s responsibility will be and what is going to be expected of the selectmen, serving as the town’s assessors.
As of Monday, there will be a message on the assessor’s telephone extension, saying the town has no assessor, and to leave a message.
The town has received notice from Maine Municipal Association that Wiscasset has received an excellence award for its town report.
The town received a dividend payment from MMA in the amount of $1198 for the town’s good management practices.
Two town employees have announced retirement plans. Becky Applin, town office accounts payable, will retire in December, and Morris Pickering, a truck driver with public works will retire the end of the month.