Pro-tax relief PAC seeks broader support

AUGUSTA – Backers of Gov. John E. Baldacci’s referendum question on tax relief urged community leaders Tuesday to join the State Board of Education in endorsing Question 1B on Nov. 4.

Mainers for Real and Responsible Property Tax Relief, the political action committee promoting Question 1B, has commended the Maine Municipal Association for launching the initiative that would boost the state’s share of local education costs from 43 percent to 55 percent.

The plan calls for raising the state’s share of education costs to relieve the pressure on local property taxes, which account for the difference.

But the PAC’s chairman took issue Tuesday with the municipal association leaving it to the Legislature to find the additional $264 million needed to reach the 55 percent target.

Baldacci’s plan, amended by the Legislature in August, would phase in state funding over a five-year period to reach the same goal.

“Every one of us – particularly those of us belonging to the municipal fraternity – understands the plight of city officials and what they’ve had to deal with,” said Dana F. Connors, the PAC’s chairman, who also is president of the Maine State Chamber of Commerce and a former city manager of Presque Isle.

“The endorsement by the Board of Education reflects the understanding that the MMA initiative to address the problem, although well-intended, just simply doesn’t get us there in terms of a measured solution,” he said. “Proponents of 1B want to end up at the same place to provide strong support for education, but it has to be done responsibly and in a way that we can afford – without a tax increase.”

Connors’ remarks followed a unanimous vote Friday of the nine-member education board, which criticized the association’s Question 1A as a mechanism that would force the state to immediately raise taxes or cut spending to reach $264 million.

Like the governor, the board also charged that there were no guarantees or legal requirements compelling municipalities to reduce property taxes to account for any savings in the local share of education costs.

In reaching its vote on the resolution to support Question 1B, the board members found it was in the best interests of the people of Maine to assure equitable and sufficient resources to support each student under Baldacci’s plan.

“Furthermore, we believe that a responsible education funding plan, phased in to achieve 55 percent state funding, will best serve our students without jeopardizing other critical state services,” the board said in a prepared statement. “The addition of a limit on the mandated local mill rate to support education will assure greater taxpayer equity.”

Voters also will have a third choice at the polls on Nov. 4, allowing them to reject both Question 1A and Question 1B.