The Election Day demise of the Palesky property tax cap prompted a quick response from the State House Wednesday morning, with Gov. John Baldacci declaring tax reform his administration’s top priority and appointing a select committee to craft its own plan within a month to reduce Maine’s tax burden.

“That was not a message of business as usual,” said State Planning Office Director Martha Freeman of Tuesday’s results, which, although lopsided against the proposed cap, nonetheless delivered a mandate of change to Augusta, she said. Freeman is charged with heading the governor’s special committee.

Formation of the committee raised skepticism among some tax cap supporters, including its informal namesake, Topsham accountant Carol Palesky.

“If you believe in the Legislature and the governor, you believe in the tooth fairy,” said Palesky, dubious of the prospect of the state undertaking any reform that would provide the widespread relief promised by her tax cap.

Palesky based much of her cynicism on the last legislative session, in which lawmakers failed to deliver tax reform despite several bills to that end.

Admittedly disappointed with the drubbing her initiative took at the polls Tuesday, Palesky said she would meet with the directors of the Maine Taxpayer Action Network to determine her course and did not rule out another referendum drive.

Her November initiative, Question 1 on the Maine ballot, would have limited property taxes to $10 per $1,000 in property valuation.

With 99 percent of precincts reporting, 63 percent of voters rejected the measure while 37 percent supported it, based on unofficial results compiled by the Bangor Daily News.

The measure failed in all 16 counties and passed in only 10 towns.

Besides the governor’s office, others interested in tax reform have started where Paleksy left off.

The Maine State Chamber of Commerce, just weeks before the election, introduced its own plan that would limit the growth of state spending and expand the circuit breaker program, which provides tax relief to low income property owners.

The Chamber plan also would cap property taxes at 6 percent of income for all but the top tax bracket.

Baldacci administration officials praised the plan as a “step in the right direction” and vowed to work with its architects to arrive at a solution to Maine’s notoriously high tax burden. Maine is often ranked among the states with the highest state and local tax burdens.

Joseph Perry, newly elected Tuesday to the Maine Senate, likely will serve on the Taxation Committee, possibly as its chairman, during the ensuing debate over taxes in Maine.

He said any reform must be carefully considered and targeted to those who need it most. It must be coupled with fiscal restraint, he said, and cannot simply change the methods used by state and local governments to collect their money.

“We can’t be big spenders and think shifting the burden is going to reduce the burden,” said Perry, a Democrat, who suggested the state step up its efforts to regionalize services to save money.

He also said the committee should consider expanding the sales tax base to include amusements – such as movie tickets – as a means of reducing the local tax burden.

While Perry and the rest of the Legislature determine how best to deal with high Maine property taxes, another potential citizen initiative is waiting in the wings to limit state spending increases to inflation and population growth.

Mary Adams, a Garland tax reform advocate, introduced the “Taxpayer Bill of Rights” initiative, modeled after a Colorado constitutional amendment.

Adams, reached Wednesday, said she was disappointed with the fate of the Palesky plan, but happy it had brought to the fore the issue of high taxes. Lawmakers, she said, would be foolish to ignore its message.

“Palesky paved the way for everything,” said Adams, who nevertheless raised doubts about lawmakers’ willingness to follow through with their election year promises to cut taxes. “Nobody will be the same after Palesky.”