CHINA: County tax increase substantial

by Mary Grow

China select board members held a short Aug. 15 meeting, followed by a tour of well-filled storage spaces in the town office building.

During the meeting, board members unanimously approved a larger-than-usual list of expenses to be paid – larger because it included the annual Kennebec County tax, which board chairman Ronald Breton said is over $544,000 for 2022-23.

For comparison, the auditor’s report in the annual town report for 2021 shows that China’s county tax was $472,622 for the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2021 (not the most recent fiscal year that ended June 30, 2022), and $433,730 the previous year. The figures indicate an average annual increase over four years of between $35,000 and $40,000.

Deputy Clerk Jennifer Chamberlain led board members on the building tour, pointing out crowded storage areas. Informal discussion focused on how many documents could be digitized, eliminating the need to keep so many paper files.

China’s Municipal Building Committee is considering options for adding a new room to provide more storage space. Select board members have talked with committee chairman Sheldon Goodine at previous meetings, most recently on Aug. 1 (see The Town Line, Aug. 11, p. 2) and expect to hear from him again soon.

The next regular China select board meeting is scheduled for Monday evening, Aug. 29. A special meeting is almost certain to be held Monday, Aug. 22, with the time to be announced; and another special meeting is tentatively on the schedule for Tuesday, Sept. 6, a day later than usual because the town office will be closed Monday, Sept. 5, in observance of Labor Day.