MINOT — Selectmen on Monday authorized Town Administrator Arlan Saunders to sign a contract with Androscoggin Bank allowing people doing business with the town to make payments with debit or credit cards.

Saunders, who has been negotiating with the bank for the past few months to set up the program, said he expected that within two to three months, townspeople doing business at the Town Office can use their cards and, if they can’t get to the office, they can make payments online.

“Anything that people had to pay for by cash or check, now they’ll be able to put on their credit or debit card,” Saunders said.

In the past, Saunders noted, the town had chosen not to accept credit or debit cards because the 2 to 4 percent transaction fees charged by the banks ate into the town’s revenues, but now the rules have changed and transaction fees can be assessed by the card user.

“In another couple of months, we’ll join the 21st century in this regard,” Saunders said.

In other business:

* Selectmen approved seven catering permits from DaVinci’s Eatery for events to be held at the Maine Wedding Barn in September.

Selectmen noted that the activities proposed in the permit applications meet the town’s criteria but told Saunders that he should notify state officials in the event there are state regulations for commercial business that may apply.

* Saunders reported that problems with the town’s grader apparently had been resolved.

Two weeks ago, Highway Supervisor Scott Parker had feared that the grader’s transmission was broken but since then, he had been advised that the symptoms could be attributed to contaminated oil and oil filters.

Parker reported that he had flushed the system and changed the filters and hydraulic fluid and that all appeared to be well, at least with the transmission, “but I am still not sure about the clutch.”

“We may have dodged another bullet,” Saunders said.