Faced with the daunting prospect of a cap on residential property taxes and a commensurate slashing of municipal revenues, officials in Brewer wisely decided not to just whine about the dire prospects of the November referendum question. Instead, they have agreed to take steps to lower property taxes to show local residents that the tax cap is not necessary. Brewer has now taken its efforts statewide and is encouraging other municipalities to follow its lead.

They should.

Shortly after the passage last month of Question 1, which requires that the state increase its share of education spending to 55 percent, Brewer councilors passed a resolve committing themselves to giving 100 percent of the increased money from the state back to local taxpayers. First, of course, the state must come up with the $250 million needed to boost education funding. The current thinking in Augusta is that the state will slowly work its way up to the 55 percent funding level.

However, if the state were to jump to 55 percent funding for the next budget year, Brewer would get nearly $1.2 million more from the state. With the recently passed resolution, this would mean a 2.4 mill reduction in the city’s tax rate. That translates into a $240 reduction in annual taxes on a $100,000 house.

Brewer officials are to be commended for seeing the looming threat of the tax cap and endeavoring to return money to taxpayers as soon as possible to show that municipal officials can lower taxes without a referendum vote or a mandate from Augusta. As such it maintains local control over property tax rates rather than ceding control to a statewide tax rate as the question on the November ballot would do.

Further, if other municipalities follow Brewer’s lead – hundreds have also expressed interest in passing similar resolutions – this sends a strong message to lawmakers in Augusta to meet the requirements of Question 1 sooner rather than later. State lawmakers failed, in the final days of the Legislature, to craft a tax relief package. Voters then approved Question 1 by a 55-45 margin, again sending a message to lawmakers that they wanted tax relief. In the absence of state action, municipalities, led by Brewer, are taking matters into their own hands. They, however, need backup from the state. This should come in the form of the state increasing its funding for education as soon as possible.

On Friday, Gov. John Baldacci created a team to provide guidance to the Legislature on fulfilling the referendum’s requirements. In doing so, he stressed, “my duty is to develop a plan to fulfill this mandate of providing property tax relief while continuing to meet other statutory obligations … such as producing a balanced budget.”

While an immediate jump to 55 percent is not realistic, a slow ramp up that is slated to take place through several changes in legislative membership and a gubernatorial election is not acceptable either. When lawmakers debate how to get to 55 percent state funding, they should keep in mind that many towns want to get that money to taxpayers as quickly as possible.

The promises from towns like Brewer are, of course, just that as action, out of Brewer’s control, must be taken so that there is money to return to taxpayers. However, in the absence of a tax relief package from Augusta, it is the best alternative to the tax cap measure.