CAMBRIDGE — Residents on Saturday will vote on paying for a proposed townwide property tax revaluation and approving a budget for next year, elect municipal officers and decide whether to authorize spending money to defend the town in an property dispute about a parcel in a town-owned cemetery.
Town Meeting will start at 10 a.m. at the Town Office on Ripley Road. Residents will vote on a 41-item warrant.
The final article asks voters if they will authorize selectmen to get legal counsel or surveying services to defend the town in a dispute over ownership of part of the Cambridge Memorial Gardens cemetery.
According to Board of Selectman Chairman Ronald Strouse, resident Michael Watson has asserted his ownership of part of the town-owned cemetery, which he says is part of a nearby property he bought. The parcel contains numerous burial plots, according to Town Clerk Carol Laplant. Selectmen have recommended appropriating $3,000 from surplus to defend the town in the property dispute.
The town also is proposing to appropriate $23,400, split over two years, to fund a townwide property revaluation.
Strouse said Wednesday that the state recommends towns and cities do a comprehensive revaluation every 10 years, but Cambridge hasn’t had a revaluation since 1979, although it has updated property values periodically because of new construction or other improvements. The revaluation will make sure all values, which are used to calculate property taxes, are assessed on a level basis, he said.
“It’s way overdue,” Strouse added.
The town is proposing to pay for the revaluation over two years, appropriating $11,700 in 2016 and again in 2017.
If it is approved, assessors doing the revaluation will start the process this year, he said.
Residents also will be asked to decide on a $312,869 annual budget. According to Laplant, $149,879 is being appropriated directly from property taxes, a $400 increase from last year.
Voters also will choose a town clerk and elect a third selectman, assessor and overseer of the poor and a member of the School Administrative District 4 board of directors for three-year terms and a resident to sit on the board of directors of the Harmony Regional Ambulance Service for a one-year term.
Nominations and elections for municipal positions are made from the floor at Town Meeting, according to Laplante.
Peter McGuire — 861-9239
Copy the Story LinkSend questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.