VEAZIE — Who decides what Veazie’s taxes will be and how do they arrive at those figures?

Town officials plan to answer those questions at a special forum on Veazie taxes to be held at 7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 17, at the municipal building.

Town Manager Bill Reed said town officials will discuss the municipal, school and county tax budgets, and the sewer assessment, and explain what percentage each one requires of the tax dollar.

The town manager, selectmen, School Superintendent Richard Moreau, Sewer District Superintendent Cary Brooks and the district trustees, Assessor Alan Thomas and County Commissioner Tom Davis will attend the meeting to discuss their particular roles in the town’s tax commitments.

Roderick Hathaway, chairman of the board of selectmen, will explain how the board’s budget process works, outlining each step of budget preparation and the dates that each step is taken.

Thomas will show how assessment and community values are determined and will explain how the state monitors his work to see that its quality is up to state standards.

Superintendent Moreau will talk about demands and pressures on the community from increasing student enrollment, how the new school will affect the tax structure, and what to expect from the state if a new school funding formula goes into effect.

Commissioner Davis will explain how the county budget and tax are determined.

State Senate candidates Tom Sawyer and Shawn Faircloth have also been invited to attend the meeting to discuss state taxes, and have confirmed that they will be there.

Reed said they will also discuss a proposed referendum drive to impose a 1 percent cap on property taxes. Reed said he and most members of the Maine Municipal Association are opposed to the proposal because of what it would do to local budgets.

If the 1 percent cap is passed, Reed said, the town would be limited to charging $1,000 in taxes for homes assessed at $100,000. Most towns, he said, curently tax from 1 1/2 to 2 percent. Such a bill, if passed, would cost Veazie $498,000.

That would be a tremendous slash to the town’s $2.1 million budget. Somehow, Veazie would be forced to come up with a half-million dollars from sources other than taxes, most likely through user fees.

Another topic for discussion, said Reed, concerns the Bangor Hydro-Electric Co.’s Graham Station oil-fired generating station. A few years ago, the power facility provided about 46 percent of the town’s total taxation. However, because the company has shut down the plant, sold off some of the equipment and mothballed the rest of the facility, the property’s valuation has dropped from $43 million in 1992 to $37 million in 1994 and the town is braced for even more devaluation requests in the coming year. The town’s overall valuation is $96 million, and the loss of $6 million in valuation is a major concern.