Pittsfield, SAD 53 seal agreement on property tax relief

PITTSFIELD – Fearful that the so-called Palesky referendum this fall will be supported by overburdened taxpayers, Pittsfield councilors and SAD 53 officials struck a deal Tuesday night.

They agreed to the concept that if any extra money is sent to SAD 53 by state officials responding to June’s voter demand for 55 percent funding, a hefty portion of that will come back to the towns for property tax relief.

They stopped short, however, to agreeing with the city of Brewer’s movement that a full 90 percent would be turned back to the towns. Brewer has contacted every town in Maine, asking them to adopt a plan similar to one endorsed in Brewer shortly after the June 8 vote on Question 1.

The Brewer City Council voted to dedicate a minimum of 90 percent of new revenues it receives under Question 1 directly to tax relief. A grass-roots movement to endorse the Brewer plan has been gaining support across the state as community leaders scramble to defeat the Palesky plan.

The Brewer movement is an attempt to defeat Topsham accountant Carol Palesky’s referendum, backed by the Maine Taxpayer Action Network, that would limit property taxes in Maine to 1 percent of assessed value, as of the 1996-97 tax year. This would mean that a homeowner with a house worth $200,000 in 1996 would pay no more than $2,000 in taxes in 2005, even if that home is now worth $500,000.

Palesky says her move would quiet panic-stricken property owners. Town officials, however, said it would bring town governments to their knees. Under the Palesky cap, towns would receive, in some cases, less than 50 percent of their current income and officials predict mass closures of libraries, parks, elimination of paving programs and major layoffs of school and municipal employees.

Tuesday night, SAD 53 Superintendent Michael Gallagher said he agreed with the Brewer movement and fully intended to turn any additional money not required by the district back to the towns for relief. “But I cannot agree to a specific percentage,” he said.

Gallagher explained that if the state funds education at 55 percent, individual districts will then be required to comply with state Learning Results. For SAD 53, that would mean hiring several new employees and installing additional programs, such as foreign language in the middle school, gifted and talented programming and visual and performing arts at the elementary level. “To do that with no additional funding over this year would be impossible,” said Gallagher. “We can’t get locked into a specific percentage because there are too many unknowns out there.”

Gallagher added that even with the state’s promise of additional funding, the details are unclear. Three key pieces are still up in the air, he said, including special education funding, transportation and debt service.

Mayor Andi Vigue, however, pressed for a 90 percent return. He said that would send a clear message to taxpayers that the money intended for relief would be used solely for that purpose.

“It’s a matter of trust,” said Gallagher. “We would be absolutely foolish not to make every attempt at property tax relief.”

Councilor Michael Gray said, “I trust what our school board has been doing all these years. I recommend we go with this resolution but I don’t think it is necessary to put in a specific percentage.”

Vigue said a vote on the Brewer movement will be placed on the next council agenda for a vote and continued discussion. “I expect a lot of the public to attend that meeting,” he added.