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CORINNA — A lighthearted debate, some confusing figures and a leap of faith on the part of one selectman translated to no increase in property taxes for Corinna residents in 1999.
Selectmen debated for nearly a half-hour before voting 3-1 to maintain a tax rate of $15 per $1,000 of property valuation.
On a worksheet prepared to calculate the tax rate, Town Manager Judy Doore demonstrated a rate from a low of $14.97 to $15.70. Selectman Galen McKenney was adamant that gaining in property valuation and underestimating anticipated revenues was reason enough not to add to the 1999 rate.
The debate developed after a briefing session with town assessor Robert Duplisea. McKenney questioned the difference in the town’s audit figures and the figures used to calculate the tax rate.
“It looks like the assessment is up and the appropriations are down,” he said. “Then why is the rate up?
“All around us in surrounding communities they’re making an effort to keep rates down,” he said. “And we’re still the lowest.”
Keeping the lower rate is an opportunity to support growth in the community, he said.
“I feel more comfortable with this than I did last year,” he said, a comment board chairman Steve Buck agreed with.
However, Buck was prepared to propose a tax increase up to 0.3 mills or 30 cents per $1,000 of property valuation. Buck was concerned about a low overlay figure in the revenue calculations that could be needed to aid cash flow. Keeping the same rate will allow an overlay of $2,564, a figure in addition to the money needed to operate the town and pay school and county taxes.
Selectman Douglas Tibbetts thought a rate of $15.50 was a more conservative approach to protect the town against unexpected expenses. To discuss the lower rate, he invited McKenney to “convince me.”
McKenney continued his sales pitch by pointing to greater efficiency in town operations, avoiding overtime, and a highway crew that will be paid in large part through a state-funded bridge project during the summer. He also urged Tibbetts to conduct a mental survey of the people in town on fixed incomes who would be negatively affected by a tax rate increase.
“We could be taking a bigger hit next year,” Tibbetts countered. “It’s the unknowns [repairs or maintenance] that concern me.”
Doore informed the board the town’s surplus or undesignated fund balance stood at about $316,000. To date, the town hasn’t needed a tax anticipation note-loan to aid cash flow. Doore said one wouldn’t be needed if the rate could be settled Wednesday night.
Buck pointed out the surplus is “not real,” but anticipated revenue from unpaid taxes.
“We generally don’t take from surplus to reduce taxation,” he said. “I know they used to. I’m more concerned with the cash flow.”
Ultimately McKenney, eagerly joined by Selectman Marvin Lister, convinced Buck to “take a chance” on the lower rate. Tibbetts maintained his opposition.
Selectman Jim Emerson was not present for the session.
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