County official anxious about land annexation plan

BANGOR – A proposed annexation of unorganized territory by the town of Millinocket could cause a “crushing blow” to taxpayers in the remaining unorganized territories, a Penobscot County commissioner said Tuesday.

Preliminary tax information from the state presented to the commissioners indicates that with two proposed unorganized territories removed from the unorganized territory tax rolls, the remaining territories would see a 7 percent increase to make up for that loss.

That didn’t sit well with Commissioner Tom Davis, who said Tuesday during a commissioners’ meeting that such an increase would hit the small unorganized communities hard.

“That’s going to be a crushing blow to towns like Prentiss,” Davis said, reiterating concerns he and the other two commissioners have raised about the difficulty facing the unorganized territories where there is usually little economic development.

Some Millinocket officials have sought to annex part or all of Township 3 Indian Purchase and Township 1 Range 8 in what could provide Millinocket with some much-needed economic development space.

Town officials have said the amount of land to be annexed is still being determined, although a previously proposed annexation withdrawn by its sponsoring councilor in March included about 5,200 acres.