Pine Tree Zones level playing field

As municipal officials in Maine’s most sparsely populated and economically disadvantaged county, we applaud Gov. Baldacci’s reasoned and targeted effort to entice business growth in areas such as ours through his proposed Pine Tree Enterprise Zones. Despite the concerns expressed by Sen. Chris Hall and Rep. Peter Mills in a recent commentary (“Opportunity or red herring?,” BDN, April 8), we believe this proposal represents a great opportunity to return economic balance to underserved areas such as ours.

In recent decades, rural Maine has seen a steady decline in total population, an outmigration of youth, a decrease in high-wage jobs in manufacturing or professional services, and little relief in sight for these unfavorable trends. In Piscataquis County, we have actively sought ways to alter these trends, by working regionally to improve our economy. The Piscataquis County Economic Development Council (PCEDC) has members, leadership, roots and function in literally every part of our county. We have learned and accepted the reality that “a rising tide lifts all ships.” Truly if good-paying jobs are created in any part of the county, the entire county is served well by this.

Our youth leave for many reasons, but the typical prohibition on their returning is the lack of higher-wage professions or jobs in our region. General population migration is seldom positive when our job base is dwindling. Business growth is stalled when our labor force is stagnant or declining.

The converse of this is that if business would locate here, workers would come. If a Piscataquis County resident will travel 45 minutes to work each day in Greater Bangor, then a Bangor-area resident will also commute to the right job in Piscataquis County, should such a job be offered. If the jobs are here, people will locate to be here. As our population grows (or ceases to decline), and our demographics become more favorable to business leaders, more growth will be considered. It all starts with jobs.

How do you encourage businesses to invest in and to grow in rural communities such as we have in Piscataquis County? The only effective tool is to somehow level the playing field between rural Maine and more developed areas. If a tax-free zone can be created, the manufacturer or assembly company owner can then have a choice. Would it be better to grow in an area with a very favorable labor pool and average infrastructure and taxes or in an area with an average labor pool and infrastructure, but a tax-free environment for a set period of time? We believe many businesses would choose the tax-free environment, and that in time, the labor pool would evolve to again rival many other regions in the state.

The governor’s Pine Tree Enterprise Zones encourages not only the traditional municipal tax-increment financing (TIF) incentive, but also an equal exemption on state taxes, including payroll, sales and corporate income taxes. A period of time would be established for the zones, typically 10 years at a minimum. State and federal resources would also be focused on these zones to encourage funding for necessary public infrastructure in these regions. State business attraction efforts would showcase these regions to prospective businesses as prime sites for development, not solely as tourist attractions as we are too often seen as today.

If members of the Legislature are concerned about continuing the cost of the “double-dip” of the combined benefit of TIF proceeds and the reimbursement from the Business Equipment Tax Rebate (BETR) program, then statutory changes can be made to fix this regardless of the enterprise zones. If there is concern about where these zones will be located, then perhaps the Legislature and the current administration could work to develop specific standards for their placement. But these matters are minor adjustments to a proposal which offers the greatest hope and promise to date to reverse the decline felt in rural areas such as Piscataquis County.

As municipal officials greatly concerned about our region’s future and its current economy, we urge the Legislature to pass into law the governor’s proposed Pine Tree Enterprise Zones. Piscataquis County as a whole would gladly host one of these zones, spread geographically across our county and developed cooperatively between townships to benefit all of the county’s members. We know that Piscataquis can be home to some of the healthiest, most economically diverse communities in Maine. With the help of these enterprise zones, we will have a necessary tool to get to where we want to be. We are determined to get there by working together.

This commentary was submitted by the following town managers: John Simko, Greenville; Jane Jones, Milo; Sophie Wilson, Brownville; Owen Pratt, Dover-Foxcroft; Tom Goulette, Guilford; Martin Puckett, Sangerville.