Tax cap talk draws hundreds

PRESQUE ISLE – “If the Palesky tax cap passes, I think that on Nov. 3 we will live in a different world.”

That philosophy, stated during an informational meeting about the 1 percent property tax cap on Wednesday evening, seemed to echo the beliefs of more than 100 people who turned out for the event at Northern Maine Community College.

The sentiment was put forth by Kate Dufour, a legislative advocate for the Maine Municipal Association, regarding the measure put forth by tax reformer Carol Palesky of Topsham.

The audience, a mix of teachers, business owners, parents and municipal leaders, listened intently as Dufour hit on relevant points about the initiative, which will go before voters on Nov. 2.

If passed, the Palesky plan would scale back assessed property values to their 1996-97 level and cap property taxes at $10 per $1,000 of valuation. It also would limit assessments to an increase of 2 percent a year while the property remains in a family.

“Some people have accused us [MMA] of being ‘fear mongers,'” Dufour said during the meeting. “But you can look at the calculations that will be implemented under the tax cap, and you can see that what towns are raising [for funds] now will be far less under the Palesky proposal.”

Dufour touched on an opinion recently put forth by Maine’s Supreme Judicial Court, the state’s attorney general, and other legal experts, pointing out that 2,278 of the 2,830 words of Palesky’s proposal were used in a manner that directly conflicts with Maine’s Constitution.

“That is over 80 percent of the plan,” Dufour explained on Wednesday evening. “And it is not just MMA saying that; it is the courts and the attorney general as well.”

Those present at the meeting peppered the advocate with questions and opinions. No one spoke in support of passing the referendum. One group of women wore bright yellow anti-tax cap T-shirts, and several people murmured in agreement when audience members spoke about their belief that the tax cap could be devastating.

One woman in the audience asked when the tax cap would be implemented if it did get passed.

“I was just asking that because I was wondering how long I would have to find a new job,” she explained.

“We are going to lose a lot of good people here due to cutbacks if that passes,” another man said. “What are all of those volunteer fire departments going to do?”

Dufour highlighted a proposal that was prepared for the town of St. Agatha by a Portland research firm. The study said that the town would be forced to consider cutting hundreds of services, including eliminating streetlights, no longer funding the senior citizen lunch program and being forced to contract for snow removal due to cuts in the public works department.

Touching on the latter topic, Tom Donahue, a Hammond selectman, said, “We were thinking of giving all of our residents shovels and saying, ‘Just shovel a portion of your road,'”

Many audience members questioned Dufour about what legal intervention might occur if the measure were passed.

“Our [MMA’s] assessors would look to the Maine Revenue Service to tell us what to do,” Dufour estimated. “The Legislature could come in and repeal it. Legally they could do it, but politically it would be more difficult.”

Before the meeting ended, Dufour discussed the estimated impact of the tax cap on the city of Presque Isle, which raises more than 10 mills for education.

If the referendum passes, Dufour said of the city, “there is a community that is in a world of hurt.”