Selectmen discuss LePage tax proposal

Tue, 01/20/2015 - 4:30pm

Boothbay may be one of the municipalities to benefit from Gov. Paul LePage’s tax reform initiative. Under the plan, the state would eliminate municipal aid and replace it with a provision allowing localities to tax nonprofit organizations valued over $500,000.

According to Town Manager James Chaousis, municipalities like Boothbay, which has an abundance of nonprofit properties, and service centers like Portland, with several hospitals and colleges, would fair well under the governor’s proposal.

“This would have a huge impact on the town of Boothbay,” Chaousis said. “We have a lot of those properties in Boothbay. And we don’t receive a lot of state revenue sharing so it looks like we would come out very well under this plan.”

Boothbay is a low-receiver of Maine Revenue Sharing. In 2014, the town received $55,000 from the state.

Boothbay also has an abundance of nonprofit properties. Chaousis believes the proposal would bring in more local tax dollars into municipal government.

However, it’s too early to tell how much additional income Boothbay would reap from the proposal.

“We don’t do a great job on assessing exempt property because it would be a fool’s errand. But, it’s a chore that we look forward to,” Chaousis said.

The town manager updated the selectmen on the governor’s proposal during the Jan. 14 board meeting.

In other action, the selectmen reviewed applicants for the Joint Economic Development and Clifford Park Redevelopment committees. The JED is a combined committee with Boothbay Harbor. Each town will nominate four representatives to the 10-person committee.

The selectmen received seven JED applications. Those applicants include Andy Hamblett, Fran McBrearty, Anya Heyl, Scott Rittall, Win Mitchell, Steve Malcolm and Abbe Levin. The selectmen expect to make committee appointments later this month or in February.

“We have a lot of good candidates, but unfortunately we are only limited to four,” Selectmen’s Chairman Steven Lewis said.

The selectmen won’t restrict the number of Clifford Park committee members. The board received eight applications and all are expected to join a growing number, according to town officials. The current applicants include Andy Hamblett, Thomas Nickerson, Dana Paolillo, Peggy Powis, Kevin Anthony, Kenneth Chances and Louise Cowan. Lewis was named as the selectmen’s committee representative.

“I’ve heard from other people who want to become involved in this project,” Lewis said. “I’m sure we’ll be adding additional names to the Clifford Park Committee as more people come forward.”

Lewis plans on calling an organizational meeting in the next few weeks. The committee is charged with implementing a redevelopment plan for Clifford Park.

The selectmen unveiled their redevelopment plan on Nov. 12. The conceptual plan would create three Little League baseball diamonds, soccer and lacrosse fields, dog park, and a walking field. The selectmen want the committee to “turn their concept into reality” later this year.

The selectmen also voted unanimously to purchase a $35,395 GMC Sierra truck from O’Connor’s Auto Park in Augusta. The town received four bids.

Wiscasset Ford was the low bidder at “just under” $35,000, according to Chaousis. The selectmen chose the GMC because it came with a better warranty, and the other truck in the fleet is also a GMC, so it would be easier to stock with filters and parts.

The selectmen will next meet at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 28 in the municipal room.