Douglas Board of Selectmen Sets Flat $12.07 Tax Rate, Rejects Gleason Court Building Bids

DOUGLAS -- November 18, 2025, Douglas Board of Selectmen rejects all bids for Gleason Court school building and sets $12.07 tax rate for FY2026. The board voted 5-0 Tuesday to reject both proposals for the historic former school, one offering $10,000, the other $390,000 structured partly as a road donation, with Town Administrator Matt calling the low bid "insulting" and "absurd" and saying he could not "justify under procurement law deviating from the appraised value by $380,000." The board separately adopted a flat residential tax factor of one for fiscal year 2026, producing an estimated $12.07 per thousand rate as Douglas's total taxable assessed value crossed $2 billion for the first time, with the median single-family home now valued at $503,100. The board also accepted $65,664 in grants, $15,664 for the Senior Center and $50,000 for a public access park at Gilboa Street on the Mumford River, and the administrator flagged a looming public safety decision: replacing the town's obsolete dispatch software could cost $210,000 in its first year alone.