Wiscasset will need to dip into its $14 million capital reserve account, or face an 11 percent hike in property taxes. Property taxes rose 14.1 percent last year.

The Wiscasset select board will meet at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 12 to determine how much money is needed to offset a tax increase and set a date for a special town meeting for voters to authorize use of the funds. The board’s goal is to maintain property taxes at the current level. Voters can draw from approximately $14 million in capital reserves to fend off the increase. H.M. Payson of Portland manages the town’s investments.  

“We were shocked when we saw the numbers from the auditor,” Chairman Judy Colby said Tuesday night.

Town Manager Marian Anderson said a loss of $2.5 million in homestead reimbursement and a $1.1 million drop in Maine Yankee’s assessment accounted for the increase.

To keep the town’s mill rate at the current $18.71 per $1,000 of assessed valuation, the town would need to add monies to offset the estimated $9.23 million tax commitment. Doing nothing would increase the rate to $21.06.

Anderson said auditor William H. Brewer Co. of Bath was still reviewing the town’s books. She said there’s an estimated $200,000 to $250,000 remaining in the fund balance that can be applied to the commitment. The board added to the amount by closing out several accounts with balance forwards carried over from previous years.

Selectmen want to know from the auditor why the $380,000 the town received from the sale of the primary school wasn’t included in the fund balance. It was estimated the town may need to take as much as $650,000 from capital reserve, requiring authorization from voters.

“Everyone wants to keep taxes as low as possible,” Selectman Katharine Martin-Savage commented.

For months, Selectman Bob Blagden warned of the tax increase. “It is going to be even worse next year,” he said, shaking his head. Blagden motioned the town manager be directed to come up with a list of a half million dollars in cuts for the 2018-19 town budget. The motion passed unanimously.

The estimated $348,000 the school department claims the town owes it are not included in the commitment, Anderson said. School Committee member Jason Putnam asked when selectmen intended to pay the monies. “We all agreed back in March the town owed this to the school department and we were told the town would have this paid off by the end of the year.” The monies owed to the school department date back to 2012 when Wiscasset withdrew from RSU 12, added Putnam.

Colby and Selectman Jeff Slack insisted the town didn’t owe the money. “We paid every invoice the school department submitted to us,” Slack said.

“Every time we talk about this, it creates more questions,” Rines commented. Colby said she would like the town’s auditor to look into this. The town office and school department now use different auditing firms.

Selectmen also hope to finalize the November ballot at next Tuesday’s meeting.