The Damariscotta Board of Selectmen raised the town’s mil rate from 13.4 to 14 at their July 21 meeting.
The mil rate determines what tax landowners pay per $1000 of property value.
Chairman Dick McLean made a motion to raise the rate to 14.1. McLean said the hike would cost him an additional $169, an amount he described as inconvenient but manageable, even on a fixed income. McLean did not receive a second for his motion.
Selectman Vicki Pinkham followed with a motion for 13.9, but Pinkham’s motion, likewise, did not garner support.
Selectman Dave Wilbur suggested that selectmen “split the difference,” but Pinkham disagreed.
“I won’t go 14,” she said. Many Damariscotta retirees rely on Social Security, she said, and cannot afford a sizable increase in their tax bills. “Basically the town is going to have to start making cuts so people can afford to live here,” she said.
Pinkham made another motion, this time for 13.95, but again failed to get the necessary second in order to force a vote.
Wilbur’s motion for 14 was seconded by David Atwater and passed, 3-2, with Pinkham and McLean in opposition.
