By Lisa Wilcox
Staff Writer
NEW SWEDEN — Something that was thought to be a simple task and has turned into a bit of an ordeal was the main topic of discussion at the New Sweden Board of Selectmen’s bi-weekly meeting held on Jan. 9.
The board is attempting to transfer a portion of land currently deeded to the town’s Thomas Park over to a resident who lives next to the park and has a building situated on the outer parameters of the property. In May of 2012, the selectmen brought the paperwork necessary to complete the transfer to attorney Luke Rossignol for handling.
According to an e-mail the selectmen received from Rossignol, processing the paperwork should take only a few hours to complete; however, despite several prompts from the board to get the work done, as of their meeting date, it had yet to be completed.
After discussion of their frustration with the situation, Head Selectmen Ray Hildebrand suggested contacting Rossignol one final time to let him know that if the paperwork was not taken care of promptly, the board would request it be returned to them and they would find another attorney. Selectman Doug Anderson motioned to accept Hildebrand’s suggestion. The motion was seconded by Selectman Linwood Lord and subsequently approved.
During the public comments section of the meeting, the board heard from a citizen who had her personal property tax bill reviewed by assessor Lewis Cousins and it was determined that she was due a refund. She had received the refund for personal property, but didn’t understand why the tax assessed for her business property was not returned as well. According to her understanding of the law, property that valued below $1,000, whether personal or business, was not taxable.
The selectmen were unclear as to whether the $1,000 limit was for individual items or for items that collectively totaled $1,000 and did not know if that applied to business property. They advised the citizen that they would need to review the law in order to determine whether she was indeed due a refund for the business portion of her property.
Despite the citizen’s claim that she had brought a copy of the law in to the town office previously, the board did not have one available, so they said they would need to review it at a later time.
The citizen was adamant that the tax should not apply to the property because there was nothing individually that totaled over $1,000 and it was business-related. She advised the board that she was not worried over the amount of her tax specifically, because it was not a large sum, but that her concern was for other citizens who she feared were being incorrectly taxed as well. The board heard her argument and again advised that they would not be able to do anything further for her until the law was reviewed.
The meeting concluded with routine signing of warrants, review of financial statements and the road report from Road Crew Foreman Shawn Dube, who advised that the crews have been out with each storm and all seemed to be going well so far this season.
The next New Sweden Board of Selectmen meeting will be this evening at 6:30 p.m.
