Islanders OK county move Islesboro vote supports Waldo exit, joining Knox

ISLESBORO – Islanders voted Saturday by nearly 10-to-1 to secede from Waldo County and join Knox County, an action that would save islanders money, add to the Knox County coffers, but leave Waldo County bereft of its second-highest source of tax revenue.

However, the island municipality of about 600 still is a long way from executing its will. Although the residents voted 101-12 to divorce Waldo and marry Knox, the Legislature must approve the move. After that, Knox County and Islesboro voters have to give final approval at the ballot box to move the county line.

Grayson Hartley, chairman of the island’s Board of Selectmen, said Sunday he was not surprised by the lopsided results of Saturday’s vote.

“We anticipated getting a good vote and community support,” he said. “It would be quite a difference in taxes. But that’s not the only reason for it. In Knox County, we’d be more aligned with the other islands in Penobscot Bay.”

Islesboro is the only island community in Waldo County. Knox County has four island towns with year-round populations: Vinalhaven, North Haven, Matinicus and Isle au Haut.

By moving from Waldo County to Knox County, Islesboro would become the fifth- or sixth-highest taxpaying town in Knox County. That would result in a reduction of $200,000 from the more than $530,000 in taxes residents annually pay Waldo County.

In January, Knox County commissioners said they would welcome Islesboro and told the selectmen that county government would help the town in its effort to secede.

The reason Knox County commissioners have rolled out the welcome mat is the same reason Waldo County doesn’t want to lose the town.

Islesboro has the second-highest real estate value among Waldo County’s 26 towns. It pays the county $531,334 each year. That figure – a 33 percent increase over the previous year – represents 23 percent of the town’s annual budget.

Waldo County Commissioner Greg Boetsch said Sunday that he was “kind of shocked” by the vote. He said that if Islesboro were successful in its secession efforts, the remaining towns in Waldo County would have to make up the lost tax revenue.

“I thought that the people out there would be a little more worried about their neighbors [on the mainland],” Boetsch said Sunday. “I really didn’t think they’d want to saddle their neighbors with more taxes.”