Atkinson moves to deorganize into territory Low valuation, high taxes among motives

ATKINSON- Residents are proceeding with a plan to deorganize this small community of 323 people.

The reasons behind the move are multifaceted, say supporters of deorganization. They point to the town’s low state valuation, the large amount of property featuring tree growth and open space, escalating education costs, and the town’s small population base.

About 60 residents and a handful of state officials who handle matters for unorganized townships attended a public hearing about the proposal on Thursday.

A special town meeting will be held Wednesday, Oct. 17, when residents vote whether or not to petition the Legislature for deorganization. If that vote and a subsequent vote by the Legislature are favorable, residents will then conduct a final vote on deorganization during the general election in November 2002. If the town deorganizes it will come under the control of the state by way of the Piscataquis County commissioners.

Not everyone is in favor of deorganization. Resident Charles Fitzgerald, who has land involved in tree growth, worries that the town will lose control over timber harvesting. “The town is one of the best-forested towns in the area,” he said, crediting a local ordinance that is more restrictive than state ordinances. He called it a “heavy risk and price” to pay to lose local control.

Another resident said, “Do we really, really want this? We have no control over anything, is that how we want to live?” the woman asked.

But Selectman David Kinney, who often is asked why taxes are so high and who views deorganization as a solution, said the town already has little control. “I just don’t see how we’re going to reduce taxes while losing [land] value,” he told residents on Thursday. “We don’t have as much local control as you think.”

Atkinson has the third-lowest state valuation in Piscataquis County at $13.5 million. Of the 23,225 acres in the town, 11,000 acres are in tree growth and 2,300 are in open space.

As the $18 mill rate increases in the future, Kinney fears more landowners will place their property in tree growth and open space, causing an even greater imbalance.

Because the town receives no state reimbursement from property placed in the open space program and does not receive the full amount from the state for tree growth, it essentially shifts the tax burden to other property owners, according to Kinney.

But tree growth and open space are not the town’s only problems, Kinney admitted.

“What we have to pay for education is a big part of the problem,” he said. The town is a member of SAD 41 and is assessed $176,000 for 42 pupils. In comparison, the town paid $83,247 to the district 10 years ago for 68 pupils. Higher school costs are expected in the future because of building needs, he said.

“We’ve got a lot of problems, and the school is our largest cost, but it’s still a good value,” Kinney said. If the town votes to deorganize, children still would attend SAD 41 schools. Secondary pupils could, if they chose, attend another school approved by the state, but transportation would be the responsibility of parents.

Were the town to withdraw from the school district, the tuition would be $210,000, in addition to transportation and any special education services needed, according to Richard Moreau, director of state schools education in Unorganized Territories. “You can’t afford to withdraw from SAD 41,” he said Thursday.

Dorene Shieve, director of fiscal services for Unorganized Territories, said the state, through the Unorganized Terrorizes budget, spends about $9 million a year to educate about 1,300 children in Unorganized Territories.

Basically, mill rates are lower in unorganized townships because taxpayers there are paying for education, Shieve said. “Quite frankly, your big landowners are paying for education because they’re our biggest taxpayers.”

The current mill rate for Unorganized Territories in Piscataquis County is $8.80 per $1,000 valuation, according to Shieve. If residents do vote to deorganize, that tax rate will increase for all unorganized townships in the county because of Atkinson’s population and the services it provides. “It’s a pretty heavy hit for others in the Unorganized Territories,” she suggested.

Shieve also noted that should Atkinson vote to deorganize and other larger communities follow suit, the tax rate would increase further.

At the time of deorganization, the town must have paid all of its financial obligations. Any funds in the school trust fund would be transferred to the Atkinson Schools Scholarship Fund. The town hall and the former elementary school likely would be sold by the state, the proceeds used to reduce the taxes for all Unorganized Territories, residents were told.