March 25, 2020 Update from the Town of Falmouth
All Town of Falmouth meetings, events, forums, and programs have been cancelled through April 7.
Dinghy Day at Town Landing has been postponed to a date-to-be-determined.
WiFi available at Falmouth Schools Campus
To the Falmouth Community,
The Falmouth School Campus has publicly available WiFi that can be accessed outside. It is an open network and does not require a password for use. The best access point is the parking lot behind the high school building. See map for location. Please follow appropriate physical/social distancing should you need to use our network.
Regards, Geoff Bruno, Superintendent of Schools
Property Tax Bills
In the coming week, the Town of Falmouth will be mailing out property tax bills. The deadline for payments is May 7. Town officials explored several avenues for deferring payments, reducing interest rates, or extending payment deadlines. Unfortunately, state statute 36 M.R.S. § 505(2) requires the due date for property taxes must be set by vote of the legislative body (in this case the Town Council) prior to the commitment of the taxes. This occurred when the FY2020 budget was approved on April 22, 2019 and the tax commitment was made on September 4, 2019. At this time there is no statutory authority to move the date taxes are due and payable or the date when interest accrues after the taxes are committed, even for emergency circumstances. Neither the emergency bill enacted by the Legislature last week nor the Governor’s emergency declaration or orders have made any changes to the laws governing property taxes, due dates, interest accrual, or tax lien procedures.
Motor vehicle registrations, temporary plates, driver’s licenses and other important documents
Last week, the Secretary of State’s Office, in conjunction with the Maine State Legislature, passed a temporary provision to extend all motor vehicle registrations, temporary plates, disability placards, State ID cards, and driver’s licenses that are expiring during the State of Emergency. This means that residents will have 30 days after the State of Emergency is terminated to renew these documents. Some of these services are available online.
Transfer Station Update
Residents have requested the Town reopen the Transfer Station during this time. While Town officials gave this careful consideration, Governor Mills’ recent Executive Order entreating residents to stay home, maintain social distancing, and not gather in groups larger than ten has led to the decision to keep the Transfer Station closed at this time. Although the Governor’s Order does classify Transfer Stations as essential, we believe we are meeting essential services by providing curbside pick-up of trash and recycling to residents. Many municipalities do not offer this service to their residents. Please note, bins must be placed curbside by 7:00am to ensure pick-up. Overflow bags and cardboard packaging that does not fit in bins may be placed to the side of the bin. At this time the Town is still requiring the use of yellow Town of Falmouth trash bags. For more information on alternative disposal options, please contact Public Works at 781-3919.