Dear Editor:

Town of Boothbay 2022: tax rate: 9.3/1,000.

In 2022 $9,636,819 was raised by property taxes.

Assuming taxes collected is equal to the town budget: An $89,000,000 loan for 20 years at 3.7% (the current rate for municipal bonds) will raise the budget by $6,304,296 per year (a 20-year mortgage at 3.7% is $525,358 per mo. x 12 months is $6,304,296 per year). 

If the loan is split equally between the two towns then Boothbay's cost per year would be $3,152,148. That is a 33% increase to the budget. To raise that much money in taxes, the mill rate will go up an additional 3.15 to 12.4/1,000. 

So if your property is valued at $477,138  instead of your current property tax of $4,437.38 your new tax would be $5,916.51, if you want to see the change in your taxes look at the total valuation in the town report book and multiply it by .0124.

The numbers for Boothbay Harbor seemed similar (their annual report is a little more complicated than Boothbay's), but it looks like you to can expect a 33% increase too.

And of course it would be even more if there was a cost over-run (that never happens) or the interest rate goes up (don't worry the fed won't raise rates again).

Joe Scorcia

Boothbay