The Industry town clerk will not receive a raise this year after a resident’s proposal to give the town clerk a pay raise of more than 38 percent was defeated at a special town meeting.
While residents rejected increasing the clerk’s pay from $13,000 to $18,000, the nearly 30 voters in attendance approved three other spending requests for a total of $19,300 in supplemental funding.
The town’s tax new rate has not been finalized, but after final calculation it is anticipated to decline from $14.90 per $1,000 of valuation to $11.50 per $1,000 of valuation. Property tax payments are due Oct. 1 and bills will be sent out Sept. 10.
Town Clerk Angel Davis said the reason for the reduction in the tax rate is the result of completion of the town’s revaluation of the property, in which property values increased.
Davis said residents voted 12-16 on the question about the raise for the clerk’s position. She said she did not have any comment on the vote.
The vote was held because resident Dean Look, who has no connection to Davis, but whose mother was once a town clerk, gathered enough signatures to require a special town meeting be held to vote on the proposed raise. Look tried to present the raise proposal from the floor of the annual Town Meeting in March, but the language of the budget warrant article did not allow Town Meeting to approve an increase.
Along with the question about whether to give the clerk a raise, voters approved switching their recycling to Archie’s Inc. after their original contractor, Sandy River Recycling Association, dissolved. During the first half of the year, the town paid $1,268 to Sandy River. Archie’s will be paid $1,800 for rubbish removal during the second half of the year.
Voters also cleaned up issues left over from the severe weather at times during 2013-14. Expenses from the cold winter and flash flooding depleted Town Garage and road maintenance funds.
On Tuesday, voters approved a request for $2,500 extra for the Town Garage, which overdrew accounts to pay for heating oil and electricity during the winter, which was was colder and longer than expected.
Voters also approved $15,000 for summer road maintenance, which was requested after flash flooding and heavy rain led to costly road repairs.
Kaitlin Schroeder — 861-9252
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