Winter Harbor to invest funds from old Navy homes

WINTER HARBOR – Local officials, in an effort to prolong the town’s ability to generate revenue, have come up with a policy for investing the money it makes by selling former Navy housing to private owners.

Winter Harbor inherited 80 housing units in its village from the military after the Navy closed its base at nearby Schoodic Point in 2002. Of those properties, 20 single-family homes have been converted to civilian use and either sold to individual buyers or are under contract, resulting in $800,000 in revenue to the town, Winter Harbor Town Manager Roger Barto said Monday.

The town also has 32 townhouse homes and 28 duplex units that used to be owned by the Navy.

Rather than transferring the $800,000 to the town’s general fund, however, the town’s Board of Selectmen voted last week to adopt a policy that allows Winter Harbor to invest it, Barto said.

By adopting such a policy, town officials can invest the money only in low-risk ventures such as government securities or federally guaranteed funds and do not have to worry about being held personally liable, he said.

“It’s pretty typical of most towns that have investment policies,” the town manager said.

The interest from the invested money will be used for capital projects and, it is hoped, will help Winter Harbor’s tax burden from increasing, according to Barto. How the interest would be spent would have to be approved by voters at town meeting, he said.

The town does not intend to pay its annual operating costs out of the profits from the housing, Barto said.

Preliminary projections indicate the annual interest on the investment of the $800,000 will be about $20,000, according to the town manager. The town’s current annual budget, including school costs, is roughly $1,075,000.

“If you keep it invested, you’re going to get something back every year,” he said.