Selectmen to Hold Public Hearing on Waiving Tax Refunds or Amount Due if Under $5

The board of selectmen will hold a public hearing Monday night on a proposed ordinance to allow the tax collector to waive property tax refunds or taxes due if they are under $5.

“A lot of towns do already have it,” said tax collector Colleen O’Connor at the selectmen’s June 13 meeting when the board discussed the idea.

The public hearing will start at 7 p.m. in the town hall meeting room.

After the hearing the selectmen will hold its regular meeting where the board is slated to discuss the proposed ordinance to ban outdoor wood-burning furnaces and refunding a portion of the 2003 bonds, among other items.

Back in May the selectmen held a public hearing on the proposed ordinance to ban outdoor wood-burning furnaces. At that time, the selectmen did not pass the ordinance.

An outdoor wood-burning furnace is an accessory structure or appliance located outside of a living space designed to transfer or provide heat by burning wood or solid waste to heat spaces other than where the structure or appliance is located, such as a home. It also applies to heating any other structure or appliances on the premises, heating swimming pools, hot tubs or Jacuzzi water.

The proposed town ordinance stated that an outdoor wood-burning furnace did not include a fire pit, wood-fired barbecue or chiminea.

The ordinance included a fine of up to $250 per day when in violation of the ordinance.

Of the 169 towns, 16 in the state have banned outdoor wood-burning furnaces, among them Avon, West Hartford and Granby.

The selectmen will also be discussing refunding a portion of the 2003 bonds in the amount of $5 million in order to take advantage of a savings for the town. The board of finance has discussed the issue and recommended seeking a 4.5 percent savings.

The selectmen will discuss going with 3 percent savings. The difference in dollars is $42,000 each year with 4.5 percent and $38,000 each year with 3 percent, said First Selectman Mary Glassman. The question is whether or not 4.5 percent will be available.

"We don't know if that will ever happen," said Glassman.