Lincoln to hold forum on economic future

LINCOLN – Making a visit to one of the state’s economic success stories, Gov. John Baldacci will be at Mattanawcook Academy on Wednesday to see what else state officials can do to help the Lincoln Lakes regional economy continue to grow.

Baldacci and state Speaker of the House John Richardson will come to town for a 6 p.m. public forum on the regional Lincoln Lakes economy and growth. The public is invited.

Their goal, Richardson said in a letter dated Aug. 28 to Town Manager Glenn Aho, is to query local leaders and residents on their local vision for the region’s economy, “their dream economy, and the means to achieve their vision.”

“The means could include infrastructure development and improvements, such as roads and bridges, broadband access, a revolving loan fund for businesses, or any other proposal to improve the local economy,” Richardson wrote. “The object is to listen to residents and officials and to develop a constructive and positive strategy to achieve the vision that meets a consensus of the participants.”

Burlington, Chester, Lakeville, Lee, Lincolnville, Springfield, Winn and several plantations are among the areas the forum shall target, Richardson said.

The forum is the latest large-scale event highlighting Lincoln’s economic success.

Maine Public Broadcasting Network featured Lincoln last weekend in an episode of its “Hometown Economies” series examining how communities adapt to the downsizing or disappearance of once-dominant industries.

The forum, town officials said, will allow residents to thank Baldacci for state aid that helped make Lincoln successful but also to question state government’s lagging performance in several areas.

“I welcome the forum because it will give us some front-page space to share our concerns,” Aho said. “We would be on a good footing if state reimbursed towns and cities for everything they were supposed to.”

State government deserves credit, Aho said, for its TIF, Community Development Block Grant and Pine Tree Zone programs that give tax breaks that allowed, among other things, for Lincoln Paper & Tissue LLC to buy the plant’s new $36 million tissue machine.

The new machine created more than 40 full-time jobs and is producing about two-thirds of its 100-ton daily capacity.

The town also is experiencing a boom in retail growth, new service providers and new housing construction, particularly around the 14 lakes and ponds within town lines.

The tax-increment financing program will fund the eventual construction of a town industrial park and perhaps the expansion of Lincoln Municipal Airport, both keys to future growth, town officials said.

“They have a lot to be proud of,” Town Council Chairman Stephen Clay said Monday of state officials.

However, town officials said state government performance has lagged in several areas:

. Slow state reimbursements that are choking many area health providers out of business and making it difficult for schools to meet educational needs.

“We’re taking so long to fund education, the unfunded reimbursements are not reliable sources of revenue, although we are entitled to them,” Aho said.

. Lagging maintenance of state infrastructure, including the several state roads and railroad lines that run through town.

. High taxes.

“We need to start cutting taxes and letting people have more of their money,” Clay said. “That would help stir the economy and put more money into it.

“The sheer cost of doing business in Maine places us in an uncompetitive position,” Aho said.

“They have a strategy and an agenda to follow,” he added. “They want to see how our economy is growing, but I don’t think we can speak about any of that until we have a clearer direction about what the state is going to do about taxes.”