MINOT — Selectmen on Monday set the 2013 property tax rate at $15 per $1,000 in property value, keeping taxes at the same level as the current year.

Selectman Eda Tripp, the town’s chief assessor, told fellow board members that the only way they could keep taxes from rising would be to draw $75,000 from the town’s general fund.

Town Administrator Arlan Saunders noted that this year there was only a small increase in the bill the town receives from RSU 16 and town meeting voters approved a municipal budget that was essentially “hold-the-line.”

“The only extra item approved was the 30-something thousand dollars for the addition to the highway garage,” Saunders said.

Noting that the town has, in the past few years, been able to slowly increase the amount of money in its general fund, selectmen agreed that the town appeared to be on a solid enough financial footing to absorb such a move.

In other business, during a discussion of the process for nominating representatives to the Androscoggin County budget committee, selectmen expressed displeasure with the way lines for the new county commissioner districts were drawn.

In past years Minot has been closely aligned with Mechanic Falls and Poland – the three towns are in RSU 16 – but now finds itself grouped with Leeds, Livermore, Livermore Falls and Turner.

“We have very limited interaction with Leeds, Livermore and Livermore Falls, but its a numbers’ game and the lines create districts with populations of about 15,000 so I guess that’s the way it is,” Selectman Steve French said.

French also voiced concerns over the adequacy of police coverage in the town.

“I have a scanner and hear what’s going on,” French said. He recalled an incident that occurred on recent midweek evening. He reported hearing the Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Office dispatcher ask if there was a sheriff’s deputy to handle a fight because it appeared the state trooper scheduled to patrol the western portion of the county was in Canton.

“It was a long time, a very long time, before a deputy finally was to get there,” French said. “As it turned out it was an argument between a husband and wife. Nothing terrible happened but one of these days, one of these situations is going to turn out bad.”

French said he didn’t know what the solution was, but something needed to be done.

“It doesn’t seem fair. It doesn’t appear the state police are carrying their share of the load,” French said.

In his report, Highway Supervisor Scott Parker noted that the highway crew had started work on the garage addition and has built the walls. He also reported that All States Paving of Auburn is expected to begin paving in the north section of town this week.