First let me say that I do agree with my counterparts on the Board of Selectmen that Boothbay is a great place to live and raise a family. My family has lived in Boothbay and on the same piece of property for the last 150 years.

I can’t support Article 2 (the TIF article) for a number of reasons. First, in my opinion, the wording of the TIF agreement is flawed in many aspects.

This agreement has been touted as having been modeled after one in Cumberland and as a TIF like none other. Why do we need to reinvent the wheel? We have two TIF agreements currently in the town of Boothbay (TIF #1 for Hodgdon’s and TIF #2 for Washburn & Doughty).

Both of those agreements spelled out who was benefiting and how. This TIF does neither of those. It talks about creating an unknown number of jobs with unknown businesses. It talks about entering into Credit Enhancement Agreements with these unknown businesses as long as they improve their base value by $500,000 and the selectmen would ratify these agreements.

I will give my fellow selectmen credit for seeing that this part of the agreement is flawed and at the last selectmen’s meeting put a moratorium on any credit enhancement agreement until an amendment can be put forth at May 2014’s annual town meeting (if this article passes on November 5).

The agreement also discusses ways the TIF monies can be spent. One of those ways is to hire an economic development director. Boothbay is too small to keep adding to the government structure, so I do not agree that we need to spend any money on an economic development director. The agreement speaks of water and sewer improvements and of road improvements.

Section 2.02 of the agreement states that, “The town will retain the Tax Increment from the District to finance some or all of the costs of the following public facilities, improvements or programs, as further described in Section 3.01 hereof (the “Public Facilities, Improvements and Programs”).” Those improvements are described in both Section 2.02 (a description of those improvements) and Section 3.01 (the estimated cost of those improvements).

If Article 3 passes (the bond issue for the Village Improvement project), then where are the monies to come from to fund the rest of the improvements spelled out in the agreement. As shown on page 12 of the agreement the town would take in $4.7 million of which $3.5 million would be used to pay off the bond leaving only $1.2 million to fund the rest of the estimated cost of improvements listed on page 11 of the agreement.

The improvements add up to an estimated total of $9.05 million (at today’s dollars). To pay off any bonds to fund the rest of the improvements (an estimated total of $5.5 million), the town would need to see additional investments well in excess of $22 million dollars to have the cost remain cost neutral to the town’s tax rate just to pay off the principal of any additional bonds.

There are too many unknowns because of the wording in this entire agreement to get my support. There needs to be more discussions with the public to see exactly what they want for the TIF district before its created and this hasn’t happened.

The town manager showed us at the last public hearing (October 23,2013) that if we don’t shelter the new investment at the Boothbay Harbor Country Club it will cost us $756,644 over the course of 30 years in county taxes and state funding.

Yes, it will cost us that amount (at today’s figures) but the town will take in an additional $4.7 million in that time frame so that is an addition of $3.94 million to the General Fund of the town over those same 30 years.

Additional funds in the General Fund help offset any increases in costs to the town and help maintain a stable tax rate. Things could happen in the future as happened this year. We lost state funding and our county taxes increased helping to cause an increase in taxes this year at almost 10 percent. An increase in revenue to the General Fund would help stabilize the tax rate if we lose more state funding and see further increases in county taxes.

I can’t support Article 3 (the Bond article) because there isn’t even a plan to spend the proposed monies on. There is a concept drawing which combines the improvements to Route 27 (improvements needed to allow the Boothbay Harbor Country Club to have an new entrance off of Route 27) with a study done by Milone and MacBroom for the Maine DOT in 2002.

People said back in 2002 that they didn’t like the drawing done for improvement around the Common (especially the roundabout) and nothing has changed the public’s perception of that study today. I can’t support the authorizing of a bond until the town has a better idea of what the residents of Boothbay want to see at and around the Common.

I know that some people will say that because of my position I am anti-business and that I am stuck in the past and don’t want to see change. I am none of these things. I am willing to help businesses that need help and change is inevitable.

I am willing to support a TIF that is fair and equitable to all parties involved (the taxpayers and the businesses). I just don’t believe that this plan (as currently written) is good for Boothbay.

We need to rework this plan (even though we won’t be able to shelter as much of the increased assessment as we’d like) in order to make a workable plan for our future that’s fair to everyone involved.

I urge a no vote on questions 2 and 3.