Paris Board of Selectmen

Feb. 26, 2018

Paris Town Office

School budget process

What happened: SAD 17 Superintendent Rick Colpitts and the town’s three school directors gave a brief overview of the district’s budget process and answered questions asked from selectmen. 

What it means: Directors Bob Jewell, Mike Dignan and Henry Raymond attended the meeting after receiving invitations by certified letters. Jewell said he thought there might have been mistrust regarding how money is being spent, based on the wording of the letter. Selectman Scott Buffington said they wanted to learn about the process.

What’s next: Colpitts is working on the 2018-19 budget and will present it to selectmen when he’s finished.

Catch basin bond

What happened: Selectmen approved an 11-year bond with the Maine Municipal Bond Bank to pay for the catch basin removal project.

What it means: The project is to remove 22 catch basins from the sewer system so the Paris Utility District no longer unnecessarily treats stormwater. The bond is for $473,468, with payments averaging about $42,800. In early 2015, the state Department of Environmental Protection mandated the PUD stop treating excess stormwater by 2019 or face fines.

What’s next: The town pays the PUD roughly $45,000 to treat the stormwater and will shift to paying back the bond. The goal is to have the street work of the project completed by mid-May.

Refund

What happened: Hodgkins announced the town received a workers’ compensation refund of $11,900.

What it means: The payment is because a payroll audit ordered by Maine Municipal Association showed one payment was higher than necessary so it was refunded.   

School Board

What happened: Selectmen appointed Sarah Otterson to the SAD 17 board of directors. 

What it means: Otterson is a retired SAD 17 teacher. Rusty Brackett, chairman of the Board of Selectmen, asked her if she would just be a “yes” vote for whatever the district asks for. “You can rest assured I have the taxpayers in this town in the back of my mind,” she said.

What’s next: She will serve until the June election and decide whether to finish the remaining two years of the term.