Current Issues and Thoughts
April 23, 2006

The next selectmen’s meeting is Monday, April 24, at 5:30pm. The meeting starts with a non-public session on union negotiations. The public session is scheduled to start at 6:00pm. Here are some of the topics we’ll be discussing:

Plan for Police Station Facilities Management

Fred Douglas and Bill Ruoff will discuss the needs at the new police station and (as I understand it) present recommendations or a proposal.

Town Reassessment

The new 2006 reassessment of all homes and properties in Milford is almost complete. All homes and properties will be assigned a new tax assessment value that is intended to represent 100% of 2006 fair market value. This means the assessments will go way up, so don’t be surprised. Milford currently assesses properties at roughly 50% of market value, so the tax assessment on a $300,000 home is roughly $150,000. The new assessment should be $300,000. Looking at all properties in town as a whole, the reassessment should have no impact on the total tax bill. The total assessments go up, the tax rate goes down, and the amount of money collected for taxes stays the same. For individual homes and properties, however, it is important to pay attention to the new assessment and be sure it seems reasonable when compared to similar properties. It is up to taxpayers to raise questions if they do not believe the reassessment of their properties are accurate. Vision Appraisal Technology is the town’s agent and they are helping the assessing office with this work. Letters to all taxpayers on the new assessments may be sent as soon as the next few weeks. Thereafter, there will be a process for property owners to arrange meetings with Vision Appraisal to discuss questions about the assessments.

Off-Road Vehicles in Mile Slip Park

In light of concerns expressed by abutters and park users about ATV and dirt bikes going on the public roads, off the designated trails and in wetlands areas, the Conservation Commission and the ATV club decided to close the designated trails in the park to off-road vehicles. They decided to close the trail on a temporary basis, to give all parties the chance to come together to discuss enforcement issues. Milford’s police department has apparently taken the position that the Conservation Commission does not have the authority to close the trail, and is apparently unwilling to enforce the trail closure. We will address this and determine what, if anything, should be done by the board of selectmen. The Conservation Commission has asked that the selectmen affirm the delegation of authority to the Con Comm to manage the park and determine the best way to address the problems. The Con Comm will be holding a meeting on this subject on May 11.

Open Selectman’s Seat

We will discuss the appointment process for the open selectman’s seat. Eight people submitted letters of interest (see my blog for details). We will discuss the procedures for the interviews with the candidates (to take place this Tuesday and, if needed, Wednesday), as well as voting procedure. The vote of three of the four sitting selectmen is necessary to appoint a person to fill the vacancy.

Open Town Administrator Position

We will discuss the process to fill the open town administrator position, following Katie Chambers’ resignation. This is discussed in detail on my blog.

There is a fairly full agenda with lots of other items. Hopefully the agenda will be available on Monday on the town’s website.

Please email me, call me or post on the blog if you have any questions, comments or thoughts.