Average tax bill up $141

Local homeowners will see their property tax bills climb this year. The residential property tax rate has been increased by 44 cents per $1,000 of valuation, meaning the owners of the average home assessed at $581,568 will see their tax bills swell by about $141, to $6,799. The tax rate for commercial and industrial properties will climb 81 cents per $1,000 of valuation, translating into a tax increase between 3 percent and 5 percent, or $1,000 to $3,600. Local business owners had opposed the tax hike, unsuccessfully appealing to the selectmen to lower their share. - Brenda J. Buote

DECEMBER'S BELLS AND WHISTLES - Santa arrives at the Town Common today between 4 and 6 p.m., and the annual Holiday Prelude will include music, face painting, horse-drawn hayrides, hot chocolate, and cookies. Stores will be open. Committee members are asking for donations to defray the costs of the event. Contact Jean Kydd at 978-256-2893, or at jkydd@comcast.net. - Joyce Pellino Crane

STAYING EVEN ON TAXES - Dracut tax rates will not increase much this year, town officials said. The town has the lowest tax rate of any Merrimack Valley community, a single-rate $9.70 per $1,000 of property value. The new rate is expected to reach $10, according to the Board of Assessors. The median single-family tax bill was $3,092 this year, with the median value of a single-family home rising more than $5,000 to $318,811 since 2006. Selectmen are hesitant to change to a split-rate tax system, which they say will substantially increase the tax rate on businesses. Details of the tax increase will be released when final certification is received from the Department of Revenue. - Rocco Colella

LEANING TOWARD A FIX - Verizon has agreed to remove a leaning telephone pole teetering over an island on Main Street that has worried residents and officials for years, according to the selectmen's office. Selectmen had pressured the communications company to remove the pole during a licensing process in the last two months. Residents fretted the pole might topple onto Main Street at some point. The pole was scheduled to be taken down this week, while the wiring was to be rerouted. - Matt Gunderson

GRANT SOUGHT FOR DOWNTOWN - Town officials are seeking a $100,000 state grant to help launch the Station Avenue redevelopment, said town planner Michelle Collette. The grant would pay for site evaluations to help the town revise its parking bylaw, define infrastructure needs, and impose traffic-calming measures for the mixed-use residential and commercial plan. Developer Capstone Properties of Burlington is awaiting word on the grant and the study before submitting formal plans, said Collette. Voters approved new zoning, clearing the way for the development, this fall. - Matt Gunderson

EVERY VOTE MATTERED - Two incumbent city councilors survived recount challenges. According to the recount tally, Grisel Silva and Jorge Gonzalez edged out their respective opponents, Ruth Rojas and Barbara Gonzalez, by 30 votes each. Silva represents District B and Gonzalez holds the District C seat. - Russell Contreras

MEEHAN HONORED FOR HELPING IMMIGRANTS - Martin Meehan, chancellor of the University of Massachusetts at Lowell, will be honored Wednesday with the annual Lamp of Liberty Award, created by the Lowell Community Health Center and the International Institute of Lowell to highlight a Lowell resident for helping the city's immigrants. The agencies cited Meehan's advocacy work for immigrants as a congressman in the Fifth District. The award will be presented at the Stonehedge Inn in Tyngsboro at 6 p.m. - Russell Contreras

FOOD FOR THE HUNGRY - Nonperishable food items are being collected through Jan. 1 to help residents of the Methuen Arlington neighborhood celebrate the holidays. Gift baskets will provide three days' worth of food for low-income families. Donations can be left in boxes at the Market Basket on Haverhill Street and the Donald P. Timony Grammar School front office on Pleasant View Street. For more information, call Methuen Arlington Neighborhood Inc. at 978-691-5645. - Kytja Weir

CHANGE OF PLANS - The Board of Selectmen changed its meeting schedule for December and shifted when it will discuss how the town should weight the property tax burden. Tomorrow the selectmen will hold a workshop on tax classification. A public hearing on the classification will be Dec. 10, according to the town manager's office, instead of the Dec. 17 meeting that has been cancelled. In recent years, North Andover has classified its taxes so that commercial properties pay a greater proportion than residential owners, with current rates at $10.45 per $1,000 valuation of residential property and $12.63 per $1,000 valuation of commercial property. At May's Town Meeting, though, residents voted for an override, meaning that tax rates will rise. - Kytja Weir

CELL TOWER OPPONENTS GEAR UP - A citizens group has formed to oppose a cell tower planned for Townsend Street, said Susan Snyder, planning administrator. The Planning Board has held two public hearings on the tower proposed by Verizon Wireless. The town does not have overlay district zoning specifying where cell towers can go, said Snyder. The next public hearing for the tower is scheduled for Dec. 10, she said. - Matt Gunderson

DECISION LOOMS ON SEWER SPENDING - Voters may have to consider next spring whether to approve a debt exclusion to help pay for a $17 million cost overrun in construction of a new sewer system, according to David Cressman, town manager. Town officials have already announced that sewer rates may increase 67 percent next year to help underwrite the sewers, the cost of which may total $100 million when completed. Cressman said last week that the rate hike was necessary because officials did not boost rates this year. Since 2003, the rate has been $5.60 per 1,000 gallons; after the hike, the projected rate would be $9.35 per 1,000 gallons, he said. - Connie Paige

BOOKS AND BOUGHS - Residents are being encouraged to pick up a wreath at the library and decorate it to the theme of a favorite book. Scouts and other youth groups typically take up the challenge, said Connie Spickler, assistant director of children's services. The wreaths will be hung in the library throughout the month. For information and library hours, contact Spickler at 978-649-7361. - Joyce Pellino Crane

OPEN-SPACE HEARING - The last of three scheduled public hearings on the town's open space and recreation plan will take place at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at the Rogers Fire Station, 39 Town Farm Road. Two previous forums reviewed the existing 2002 plan and identified goals for open space and recreation over the next five years, according to William Turner, the town's conservation and resource planner. At the upcoming meeting, residents will discuss how to develop those goals. Turner said he expects the plan to be ready for submission to the state Division of Conservation Services by early next year. - Joyce Pellino Crane

PONYING UP FOR CATS - The ninth annual live and silent auction for the Animal Rescue League of New Hampshire raised $203,000, more than double last year's event. Kittens in the lobby reminded attendees that they were helping to raise money to construct a multiroom center estimated to cost $150,000. Construction is to begin next year. The shelter is home to 41 dogs and 231 cats. - Meg Villeneuve

SENIORS TURN PLEA TO RESIDENTS - Now that selectmen voted against putting an article on the March ballot for an addition to Lions Hall, members of the Hudson Council on Aging said they will try to put the article on the ballot through a citizens petition. The group met last month with selectmen to review the proposed 4,100-square-foot addition. Selectmen voiced concern about the size and the $900,000 price tag. Town Manager Stephen A. Malizia said the article will require 25 signatures to be placed on the ballot. "We are leaving it up to the good people of Hudson to decide," said Lucille Boucher, president of the Council on Aging. - Meg Villeneuve

SCHOOL MUSIC DIRECTOR CONDUCTS THE POPS - When the Boston Pops performs "Sleigh Ride" Dec. 15 at the Verizon Center, Andy Soucy, music director for the Londonderry school district, will be conducting. With 1,500 votes, Soucy won a contest held by local radio station WZID-FM. Londonderry Superintendent Nate Greenberg said he is thrilled that Soucy will have this opportunity. "It's just another testament of the work he's done her for the last 25 years," he added. - Meg Villeneuve

SCHOOL PACT REJECTED AGAIN - For the second time in three months, the Board of Aldermen voted, 8 to 5, to reject the proposed teachers contract. The teachers union and the School Board voted in October to accept the new contract. Teachers have been without a contract since September 2006. The contract will now be renegotiated. - Meg Villeneuve

POLICE TO REQUEST NEW STATION AGAIN - In 2004, residents voted down building a new facility for the Police Department. Four years later, the department is hoping for a change in sentiment. Police are working on plans for a new station that will go before voters in March. Though the details, such as cost and size of the new facility, are not worked out, the proposed station would be located behind the existing station, according to Deputy Chief Bill Ganley. - Meg Villeneuve

AROUND THE REGION

TAX RATE HEARING - Selectmen will hold the annual tax classification hearing at 7 p.m. tomorrow in Town Hall to determine residential and business property tax rates for the fiscal year ending June 30. Last year, the board voted to shift some of the tax levy away from residential properties and to businesses. The fiscal 2007 tax rate was $10.80 per $1,000 of valuation for residents, and $24.17 for businesses. The total tax levy increased 4.5 percent from fiscal 2006, which included growth. - Joyce Pellino Crane

ETHICS FINES - The state Ethics Commission has fined two North Reading employees for conflict of interest violations. Diego Nicolo, an employee with the Water Department, and James Murray, an employee with the Highway Department, formed a water pressure testing company and performed private work for town residents between 2004 and 2005, according to the committee. Town employees are not permitted to accept payments from residents, according to state law. Nicolo has agreed to pay $1,000 in fines. Murray will pay $750. - Laura M. Colarusso

QUORUM QUESTION - Selectman Enrico Cappucci thinks Shirley needs a quorum at special town meetings. Only 59 people attended the last meeting on Nov. 13 - which was fewer people than at the previous six special meetings going back to October 2003, according to Town Clerk Amy McDougall. "I'm concerned about that," Cappucci said. - Julie Masis