The Wiscasset Board of Selectmen voted to raise the town’s mil rate by $.35 to $15.15 per thousand dollars of property valuation at their regular meeting Sept. 6.
According to a memo to the Board written by Town Manager Laurie Smith, the mil rate rise reflects a $219,000 deficit from FY 2011’s education fund that was added to FY 2012’s education expenses. The extra expenses translated into a $.50 increase in Wiscasset’s education mil rate.
The $.50 increase in the education mil rate was partially offset by a $.17 decrease in the Town’s mil rate from $3.40 per thousand dollars of property valuation to $3.23. Like the education rate, the county’s mil rate edged up $.02 from $1.08 to $1.10.
Overall, Wiscasset’s total tax commitment fell 4.5 percent from $1,517,089 to $1,448,775, as the total taxable valuation of the Town rose half a percent.
The rise in the Town’s taxable valuation came from new construction projects. According to the memo, a new CMP substation made up the majority of the $3.5 million increase.
