GLEN SPEY, NY — The numbers were on hand and a tax-appeal settlement, tabled earlier in December, was finalized at the Lumberland Town Board’s end-of-year meeting on December 29.

The board approved a settlement that will yield a $974 rebate on 2013 town taxes and a 2014 rebate of $3,708 for Chapin-Lumberland LLC.

The attorney for the town, Danielle Jose-Decker, said the settlement included 22 of 42 lots that were vacant for development. Next year, appraisals can be based on values derived from subsequent sale prices, which will increase their value to the tax base, she said.

Year-end meetings primarily deal with last-minute bills and budgetary transfers, known as encumbrances, of prior-year costs that have not yet been paid from the prior year to the coming year’s budget.

For several items not yet billed, Supervisor Nadia Rajsz sought to encumber five transfers into the new budget, including $10,000 for landfill engineering costs, $2,328 for a new assessor’s fire-proof file cabinet, $11,600 for projected highway department raises in a new contract, $3,900 for a Circle Park program, and $4,500 for the joint summer youth program with Highland.

Following discussion about encumbering money without expectation of a bill, the highway contract money was deleted, to be turned back into the 2014 unexpended balance, which also will be available in the new budget.

The retirement of the town’s long-time building cleaning person, Jean Reid, prompted a lengthy discussion as to whether a full-time or two part-time persons should be hired and what the duties would be.

The decision was for two part-timers, one custodian for indoors and one maintenance person for outdoors, who would be shared with the highway department. The board approved advertising for the new positions.

The board also approved a $1,851 contract with the Port Jervis–Deerpark Humane Society, and the transfer of ownership of a plot in the town cemetery.

It tabled approval of fuel oil purchase on Global Oil’s state bid contract, pending the highway superintendent’s recommendation.

In another announcement, Rajsz said that PennDOT officials would be appearing in Lumberland for a public information meeting to explain their plans for the Pond Eddy bridge replacement on a yet unconfirmed date in April.

The board’s next regular meeting is scheduled for January 14, at 7 p.m.