CHELSEA — The supervisor of municipal services at the Maine Revenue Services Property Tax Division has been invited to a Jan. 11 meeting to explain the importance of a professional revaluation of property values.

Town Manager Scott Tilton said the town is in the process of drafting request for proposals for revaluation companies. The meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. at the Chelsea Elementary School.

A group of business owners attended last Wednesday’s selectmen meeting to discuss the process. Tilton said there was a misunderstanding about how business property values would be determined.

“There’s language in the (proposal) that says the company can request from businesses a copy of their profit and loss statement,” Tilton said Wednesday. “It doesn’t require that it be sent to the assessor and it doesn’t mean that it’s the only method the assessor or appraising company would be using. (The income method) is just an alternative. So there’s a lot of confusion. That’s why we scheduled another discussion on Jan. 11 and have Mike Rogers from the Maine Revenue Services coming in.”

He said Rogers will explain what a revaluation will do for the town and how it will be conducted. He also will explain the income method used for determining the worth of business property.

“I think their biggest concern was that people were going to know what their incomes were, that was part of it,” he said. “As a business owner I would be upset about that too. But the second part was that they thought their real-estate value was going to be tied to their income, which it really isn’t. They thought they would be paying income taxes to the federal government and state and then it would happen again at the local level. The town doesn’t have the right to tax incomes.”

Selectmen at their meeting last Wednesday approved an investment policy recommended by the town auditor.

Tilton said the policy gives guidance to the town treasurer so prudent and safe investments will be made on behalf of townspeople. He said only excess money will be invested, not town operating funds.

The Safe Fire Works Committee also reported to the Board of Selectmen at that meeting. Tilton said the committee is drafting an ordinance that would restrict the sale, use and possession of fireworks in town.

“It’s similar to what other communities have done,” he said. “There will be public hearings and then residents will vote on this. We’re having a special town meeting on March 27 to select six Charter Committee members so this will probably be part of that election.”

Tilton said the Red Cross has approved using Chelsea Elementary School as an emergency shelter, pending approval by school officials, and that selectmen discussed request for proposals for legal and auditing services.

“The goal here is to save money,” he said. “They also are trying to develop a use policy for the town attorney. In the past, anyone who had a legal question could call the attorney, which led to duplicate charges for legal services. What the policy does is direct the question either to myself or the board chair so we have one person asking the question.”

Selectmen also reviewed a revised code enforcement officer job description. Bob St. Pierre recently resigned from that position and the board is seeking a replacement.

The part-time position will be advertised in the newspaper and the Maine Municipal Association Job Bank.

Mechele Cooper — 621-5663

[email protected]