March 29, 2024
BANGOR DAILY NEWS (BANGOR, MAINE

Council seeks power to charge nonprofit groups> Farnsworth director pans Rockland vote

ROCKLAND — City Council efforts to wrest user fees from nonprofit organizations are “wrongheaded, penny-wise and pound-foolish,” the director of the Farnsworth Art Museum said Tuesday.

Chris Crossman plans to write to the council in the wake of its vote Monday night asking local legislators to file a bill that would allow the city to collect user fees from tax-exempt agencies.

“This has gone on long enough,” Crossman said.

“We have spent $20,000-plus on roads and sewers around the museum. I think we have done our bit for a while,” he said.

“They have to consider the indirect benefit to the local tax base from the museum. A house up the street has just sold for $175,000. I would guess that would have sold for $50,000 only two or three years ago.

“I try to point out that nonprofits are a very small portion of the tax base and in exchange for that, the people get a great deal of service,” Crossman said.

“To my mind, nonprofit agencies enhance and do not take away from our community,” Crossman said.

By national standards, the Farnsworth is “still a pretty small museum. But some people have resented the growth of the last few years. During the season through free days and free admission to Rockland residents, we probably lost $150,000,” Crossman said. The director added that the museum has a small endowment and must raise 85 percent of a $2 million budget.

Crossman is chairman of the Maine Arts Commission where “most people in nonprofit groups feel that they give so much back to the community that they find it inconceivable that they want to turn around and make money off our backs.”

Nonprofit organizations become “demoralized” over the requests for more money, Crossman said. “I think the effort is wrongheaded. I would suggest that some people do more research and homework. For every nickel they get in taxes they might lose $10 in service.”

By a 3-2 vote Monday night, the council asked state Sen. Chellie Pingree and state Rep. Deborah McNeil to introduce legislation to expand the classification of tax-exempt properties to which a municipality could assess service charges. The council would like to be able to charge the nonprofits for fire and police protection, road maintenance and construction, plus water and sanitary services.

Maine law allows for service charges only on residential property totally exempt from property taxation used to provide rental income, with the exception of student housing and parsonages. Rockland wants the power to assess charges against all nonprofit agencies other than government or religious institutions.

Mayor James Raye, who is making a career out of needling nonprofit agencies, fears that the agencies are taking up valuable, scarce city land instead of manufacturing concerns that, he argues, could bring more and better-paying jobs to the city. He aims particularly at the Farnsworth which, with its expanded Wyeth Wing, has attracted more than 100,000 cash-toting tourists to the city. Any place making that much money, Raye reasoned Monday night, should be paying a service fee to the city in lieu of taxes.

An outspoken supporter of nonprofit agencies, Councilor Joe Steinberger voted against the measure proposed Monday night. The city should be more aware of the valuable service that nonprofits provide, he said.

Steinberger asked whether the effort would extend to seeking user fees from hospitals and schools. He started a nonprofit language school in Rockland, but denied that he had any conflict of interest in the decision.

Councilor Patrick Reilley also voted against the resolve. Reilley said the council has “wasted far too much time and energy on this issue. This is not in our purview. This is a state issue. Are we going to tax the legally blind, paraplegic veterans, disabled vets and churches, the VFW and the Legion? We are talking about 4 percent of the tax base. This is a nothing issue.”

A former employee of the museum, Councilor Lewis Metcalf, said he is well aware of the good done by the institution. “But we owe it to our taxpayers to have our representative file the bill to be fair and equitable to all. We are not attacking nonprofits. Organizations like the Salvation Army are a godsend to the city,” Metcalf said.

Councilor Beth Stuart who voted for the resolve, said the effort will open the door for more research and is not an “attack” on nonprofit organizations.


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