Selectboard Sets Municiple Tax Rate
by Gail Callahan

The Charlotte Board of Selectmen approved the municipal property tax rate last week for fiscal year 2008-2009. The rate now stands now stands at 18.63 cents per $100 of assessed value. That level is about 13 percent lower than the 21.44 cent per $100 level of assessed value suggested at March Town Meeting. Citing the townwide reappraisal, town officials noted that it contributed to increase Charlotte’s Grand List by more than $1 million, to $9,123,865. A surplus of $70,000 from  2007-2008’s fiscal year will reduce the amount of money needed for next year.
Charlotte’s total property tax rate, including state education and municipal tax, stands at $1.4398 for homestead tax rate and $1.4352 for the non-residential rate. The reappraisal brought the town’s common level of appraisal level to 108.9 percent, compared with the previous 88.37. During the meeting, the board also unanimously approved $6,000 for repairs earmarked for the Charlotte Senior Center. Some of the repairs are necessary due to water damage at the Ferry Road center, Bloch said. The trim on the building’s exterior needs to be replaced and the drip edge on the structure’s exterior windows needs repairing. Siding on the outside of the building needs to be removed, and the board gave the go-ahead for funds for the painting of the site. The repairs, now underway, are slated to be completed this month, said Bob Chutter, president of the Board of Directors of the Charlotte Senior Center. The center’s board is expected to solicit bids for the paint work sometime this fall, Chutter said.
In other business, the board appointed Anne Bijur to the Charlotte Conservation Commission. Bijur replaces Sylvia Knight, who resigned on August 11, citing personal reasons. According to Charlotte Town Planner and Selectboard Assistant Dean Bloch, Bijur will serve the remainder of Knight’s term, which expires in March 2010. Bijur was the sole applicant for the position, Bloch said.