The Palesky tax cap was put to bed by Maine residents Tuesday, but the question of high taxes remains with legislators as well as municipal and county officials. Gov. John Baldacci has said tax reform needs to be a high priority in the next legislative… Read More
BANGOR – Opponents to the Palesky tax cap initiative denied Saturday that they are using scare tactics to encourage people to vote against the referendum Tuesday. Instead, they said, they are educating the public by stating the facts. “The proponents of Question 1 say that… Read More
Carol Palesky’s name won’t be on the November ballot. Nonetheless, the grandmotherly Topsham accountant could be the most powerful – or, some say, dangerous – force in Maine politics this year, as voters consider the sweeping 1 percent property tax cap with which her name… Read More
ORLAND – The proposed tax-cap referendum is a “meat-ax” approach to tax reform that would devastate the town. That was the message from town officials this week at an informational meeting on the Palesky initiative. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]];… Read More
The sister cities of Bangor and Brewer are predicting that hundreds of city employees would lose their jobs under the proposed Palesky tax cap, and that means cutting into city coffers to issue unemployment checks because both cities offer direct reimbursement, officials say. With direct… Read More
OLD TOWN – New estimates on the impacts of the proposed Palesky tax cap show that cuts could be slightly less than original figures given by former City Manager John Lord. The overall shortfall would be about $1 million less than Lord’s previous $5.5 million… Read More
ORRINGTON – The top taxpayer in town – Penobscot Energy Recovery Co. – would pay $265,000 less in taxes if the tax cap initiative before voters were passed Nov. 2, officials said. PERC paid nearly $724,000 in property taxes this year. Under the tax cap,… Read More
HAMPDEN – The town of Hampden will survive if the Palesky tax cap initiative is passed on Nov. 2. That was the message Monday night at a public meeting of school and town officials from SAD 22, which includes Hampden, Newburgh and Winterport, held at… Read More
LINCOLN – If the Palesky property tax cap initiative passes, Lincoln town government and most of the services it offers will practically cease to exist. That was Town Manager Glenn Aho’s prediction Monday as he discussed the tax initiative’s potential impact upon the town and… Read More
BREWER – If you want to talk about frightening numbers, try looking at the projected cuts the city would need to make if the proposed Palesky tax cap passes, City Manager Steve Bost said Wednesday. “It’s not a scare tactic,” he insisted. googletag.cmd.push(function () {… Read More
WATERVILLE – A loophole in the tax cap referendum question on the Nov. 2 ballot would enable local governments to avoid the deep spending cuts they fear would result from the initiative, a legal analysis by opponents says. A memorandum for the Maine School Management… Read More
PRESQUE ISLE – Though SAD 1 officials have not taken a stand for or against the proposed Palesky tax cap, they are working to inform district parents about how the measure will affect the school system. During its Wednesday night meeting, the district’s board of… Read More
BANGOR – The eight candidates vying for three City Council positions may not agree on many issues, but they all seem to come to a consensus on one: Question 1 on the state ballot that deals with a proposed property tax cap is a bad idea. Read More
SACO – It was the summer of 1978. Property owners here, shocked and fuming after seeing their taxes rise 21 percent in one year because of revaluations, virtually stormed City Hall to dispute their tax bills. googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes =… Read More
HOULTON – Though very few people showed up at the town’s tax cap forum on Monday evening, and no one phoned or e-mailed questions to be answered at the meeting, town officials still hope that people are listening. “The purpose of this forum is to… Read More
PRESQUE ISLE – In a Tuesday night forum about the Palesky tax cap proposal, participants focused on what is right and wrong with the initiative, leaving little wiggle room for undecided voters. Representatives on both sides of the issue kept returning to their side’s main… Read More
HOULTON – A local man who is a strong supporter of the 1 percent tax cap referendum is looking to take to the airwaves to support the cause, and has threatened legal action if the town prevents him from doing so. Town councilors will have… Read More
BANGOR – Despite the prospect of its own substantial savings, one of the city’s largest property owners Tuesday announced its opposition to the Palesky tax cap proposal, warning of its “deep economic ramifications.” “The premise behind the tax cap proposal is that it will create… Read More
PORTLAND – Tax cap supporters criticized Portland school officials and union leaders for withholding details of a new teachers’ contract until it is approved by the school board after the Nov. 2 election. The Portland School Committee is scheduled to vote on a two-year contract… Read More
GLENBURN – Potential cuts to the town’s budget, while not as large as in some communities, will have a substantial impact on residents if the proposed Palesky tax cap passes, according to findings reported by the Glenburn Tax Cap Information Committee. The nonpartisan committee, which… Read More
CARMEL – A public hearing held Monday night about the anticipated effects of the Palesky tax cap was labeled a scare tactic by some residents and good planning by others. At issue were two referendum questions town residents must vote on come Nov. 2 in… Read More
DOVER-FOXCROFT – For a brief period Monday night, it appeared that the mill rate to support Piscataquis County government in 2005 would decrease from $1.82 to $1.77 per $1,000 valuation. But that announcement to the Piscataquis County budget advisory committee Monday was quickly revised to… Read More
PORTLAND – Thousands who own vacation homes but live outside Maine are watching from afar as the tax cap debate rages on. Many, like David Huber, who owns a summer home in Biddeford Pool, are ambivalent about the outcome of the Nov. 2 vote. googletag.cmd.push(function… Read More
BREWER – Four of the five candidates vying for seats on the Brewer City Council say cuts to city services and the threat of losing local control are driving them to oppose the Palesky tax cap. A fifth candidate says he hasn’t made up his… Read More
ELLSWORTH – This time of year, many residents are being encouraged to help “get out the vote” as the elections nears, but a coalition of municipal employees in Hancock County’s only city has taken on another mission first. They want to get out the info… Read More
BUCKSPORT – The town will join three other towns in a legal challenge to a portion of the Palesky tax cap proposal if voters approve it next month. Councilors on Thursday authorized the town to become a party to the suit being prepared by the… Read More
HOULTON – Town officials are gearing up for a public forum on the 1 percent tax cap referendum that will kick off at the town office this coming Monday evening. The forum, which will begin at 6:30 p.m., will be televised on the town’s public… Read More
BAR HARBOR – Union 98 Superintendent Robert Liebow predicted “some big gutting” in school spending if the so-called Palesky tax cap passes on Nov. 2 and is found to be constitutional. If a key portion of the tax cap language is found to be illegal,… Read More
WATERVILLE – Although the two guest speakers at the Palesky tax cap debate were on opposite sides of the fence Thursday morning, they were solidly together on one point: their disappointment that the Legislature isn’t dealing with property tax reform. Yellow Light Breen, vice president… Read More
BUCKSPORT – Passage of the so-called Palesky tax-cap referendum will result in devastating results for the town, according to speakers at an informational meeting Tuesday night. All areas of municipal services would be affected by the tax cap if it passes, town officials told the… Read More
The two religious organizations that represent most of Maine’s congregations took opposite stands Tuesday on the tax cap referendum. Citing the potential harm to the state’s poor, the Maine Council of Churches is urging voters to oppose the tax cap referendum, while the Christian Civic… Read More
WATERVILLE – Some librarians say towns might close their libraries or charge hundreds of dollars for library cards if voters approve a statewide property tax cap on Nov. 2. Closing libraries or charging high fees for services would most hurt those who can’t afford to… Read More
BREWER – When asked, neither proponents nor opponents of Carol Palesky’s tax cap initiative could say for sure if the homestead exemption many Mainers use to reduce their property taxes would continue if the cap is passed by voters in November. Members of both sides… Read More
BANGOR – Mainers are split in more ways than one over a proposed property tax cap, according to a poll released exclusively to the Bangor Daily News on Thursday. Overall, Maine voters were evenly divided over the issue with 47 percent in favor and 46… Read More
HOULTON – With little discussion about the matter on Wednesday evening, Aroostook County commissioners unanimously agreed to support a resolution opposing the 1 percent tax cap referendum. In voicing their disfavor, the group cited figures showing that the county would lose at least 30 percent… Read More
CALAIS – To many voters, the Palesky tax cap appears to spell relief. The citizen initiative led by Carol Palesky and the Maine Taxpayers Action Network seeks to cap property taxes at $10 for $1,000 of 1996-97 assessed value and would impose other restrictions. googletag.cmd.push(function… Read More
HOULTON – A public forum will be the arena for residents to learn more about the 1 percent tax cap referendum. The Oct. 18 debate, hosted by the new tax cap council, will be televised on the town’s public access channel. Residents will be allowed… Read More
PRESQUE ISLE – City officials may join forces with two other communities in the state and the Maine Municipal Bond Bank in challenging the validity of the Palesky tax cap. Councilors discussed during their Monday night meeting a recent proposal they received from the Maine… Read More
AUGUSTA – The Palesky tax cap proposal was described by lawyers Monday as a legal quagmire without precedent in Maine law that could paralyze school districts if it wins approval. Lawyers from the Portland firm Drummond Woodsum & MacMahon cautioned the more than 200 school… Read More
HOLDEN – Trying to figure out how Carol Palesky’s tax cap would affect SAD 63 is like “dealing with Jell-O,” Chairman Don Varnum said at Monday’s board meeting. Exact numbers remain up in the air, but it appears that under the tax cap, which will… Read More
PITTSFIELD – The coming referendum vote on the Palesky tax cap was the hot topic Monday night at the ARTS Club annual candidates night. Every one of the 10 candidates participating united in bipartisan opposition to the Palesky referendum. The Palesky initiative would roll back… Read More
HOULTON – Rest assured, Mainers. Tax reform is on the way, but not in the form of the so-called Palesky tax cap. That was one of the messages hammered home by Gov. John Baldacci on Sunday afternoon during a public forum at the Washburn municipal… Read More
HOULTON – Nearly three weeks ago, Town Councilor Gerald Adams suggested that the group think about giving the next council a $1,500 raise. A short time later, however, the councilor reconsidered because of an issue that municipal officials say could result in the town losing… Read More
HERMON – Town Manager Clint Deschene said it’s not scare tactics when he talks about costs rising in town and services dropping should the proposed tax cap proposal gain passage this November. “Just because something is scary doesn’t mean it’s scare tactics,” Deschene said Friday,… Read More
HOULTON – Town councilors joined a growing number of municipalities and school boards on Tuesday evening when they adopted a resolution opposing the 1 percent tax cap referendum. All but one of the councilors voted in support of the resolution, which decries the so-called Palesky… Read More
TOPSHAM – Don’t let Carol Palesky’s grandmotherly appearance fool you. Sure, she has wispy hair pulled up in a knot, granny glasses and a cane close at hand. She wears old slippers as she hobbles on a bum foot in her home office, where she… Read More
HOULTON – At the first meeting of the town’s newly organized tax cap council on Monday evening, each person on the eight-member panel spoke of the “devastating” impact the 1 percent tax cap referendum will have if it passes in November. After the meeting, Stan… Read More
MILLINOCKET – The proposed property tax cap that voters will consider Nov. 2 would cut nonmandated services and municipal employment to the bone, according to a report prepared by the town manager. Town Manager Gene Conlogue said Tuesday that if the cap had been in… Read More
MADAWASKA – Selectmen and members of the school committee were unanimous Tuesday night in their quest to make the Legislature adhere to a voters’ decision last June that said the state should pay its full share of education expenditures. The resolution asks that the Legislature… Read More
ORONO – The consensus of residents and public officials at Wednesday night’s public forum on the proposed Palesky tax cap was that the legislation, while it would lower property taxes, is likely not the best answer. “This is bad legislation,” Orono Fire Capt. Dave Martin… Read More
MADAWASKA – Not unlike most Aroostook County municipalities, Madawaska stands to lose nearly half its property tax collections if the so-called Palesky tax cap is approved by voters in November. The Board of Selectmen and the Madawaska School Committee on Tuesday signed a resolution against… Read More
AUGUSTA – Try as they might to avoid the question, it keeps coming up on the campaign trail: What do legislative candidates think of the tax cap proposal? Some legislative candidates say politicians have no right to voice their opinions because the issue is now… Read More
ORONO – Town councilors and school board members stressed at Monday night’s special joint workshop that local control of tax dollars will be lost if the Palesky tax cap measure is approved by voters Nov. 2. The two groups met Monday to compare notes and… Read More
DOVER-FOXCROFT – After listening to a handful of residents vent their frustrations Monday about increasing property taxes, selectmen voted 6-1 to sign a resolution opposing the Palesky tax cap proposal. “I believe we should have tax reform in this state but I believe the Palesky… Read More
ST. AGATHA – The St. Agatha budget committee and Board of Selectmen have voted unanimously to oppose the Palesky tax cap because the impact on the small community would be disastrous. The votes were taken Sept. 23 after both boards studied and discussed information they… Read More
ORRINGTON – Selectmen in town are so concerned about the potential effects of the Palesky tax cap on the community that they decided Monday to create a committee to look into “the guts” of the matter. “It certainly will have a devastating impact on the… Read More
BANGOR – Nearly 200 city employees, and likely scores of school staffers, could join the ranks of the unemployed. Two of Bangor’s satellite fire stations could close, leaving only Central Station on Main Street, which could lengthen response times in some parts of the city. Read More
BAR HARBOR – The town could eliminate its annual road maintenance program and all reserve accounts for major purchases and still have to increase fees by more than $1 million a year to make up for lost property tax revenue should the tax cap referendum pass on Nov. Read More
AUGUSTA – School improvements taking shape under reforms such as Learning Results are threatened by Question 1 on the Nov. 2 ballot, educators and school administrators who oppose the 1 percent property tax cap said Thursday. Representatives of the Maine Board of Education, Maine Education… Read More
Some coastal communities in Maine crying the loudest for property tax relief would not be likely to get any under the so-called Palesky tax cap referendum in November. In all, 77 communities are either too rich or too poor to be affected by the measure. Read More
In what its authors call the most detailed analysis of the proposed Palesky tax cap to date, a study released Tuesday found that Maine communities would have faced a shortfall approaching $700 million if the cap were in effect last year. “People need to know… Read More
EDDINGTON – “Disastrous” is the word assessor Roscoe Kent used to describe Carol Palesky’s tax cap and its effects on the community during a selectmen’s meeting Tuesday night. “It doesn’t make sense,” is what assessor Charles Plummer said about the initiative, which is set to… Read More
ELLSWORTH – Local officials, concerned about the possible passage of a statewide tax cap referendum, aren’t waiting to find out how Ellsworth might be affected if the proposal is approved. The Ellsworth City Council voted unanimously Monday to have the city’s department heads examine their… Read More
PITTSFIELD – Town councilors set a process in motion Tuesday night that would allow them to assess user fees and rental fees for all town programs and operations if the Palesky tax cap passes in November. The tax cap proposal would limit property taxes to… Read More
ROCKLAND – “Tax Cap, Wow” might summarize city administrators’ sentiments on the Palesky proposal. The infrastructure of city government “would be decimated with the passage of the tax cap as proposed,” City Manager Tom Hall stated in a report last week. “The number of legal… Read More
ROCKPORT – A former state senator and an incumbent state representative discussed both sides of the Palesky proposal Tuesday, during a debate sponsored by two local chambers. Former Sen. Phil Harriman, leader of Tax Cap Yes!, a political action committee supporting the bill, and Rep. Read More
If voters approve a property tax cap on Nov. 2, Lewiston’s school system might be left with just enough money to educate pupils through eighth grade. Portland would have to lay off 457 school employees and have one teacher for every 30 to 40 students. Read More
HOULTON – An increasing number of Aroostook County town councils and school boards are taking a stand against the Nov. 2 tax cap referendum. At meetings on Monday evening, both the Houlton Town Council and the Southern Aroostook Community School District expressed concern about the… Read More
BAR HARBOR – The citizen group MDI Tomorrow plans to co-sponsor a public forum next month to hear both supporters and opponents of the Nov. 2 property tax cap referendum. The group got support this week from all four municipal managers on the island, representing… Read More
AUGUSTA – Maine State Chamber of Commerce President Dana Connors unveiled his organization’s two-prong solution for decreasing the state’s high tax burden Thursday, hoping to extinguish support for a statewide tax cap proposal on the Nov. 2 ballot. Connors proposes a system that would impose… Read More
PRESQUE ISLE – “If the Palesky tax cap passes, I think that on Nov. 3 we will live in a different world.” That philosophy, stated during an informational meeting about the 1 percent property tax cap on Wednesday evening, seemed to echo the beliefs of… Read More
ROCKLAND – Town officials can’t afford to wait to see if the Palesky tax cap proposal is passed by voters in November. They need to prepare now and make the public aware of the tax cap’s impact, according to a lobbyist for the Maine Municipal Association. Read More
ELLSWORTH – Roughly 100 people from Hancock and western Washington counties, many of them municipal, school and county officials, got a crash course Wednesday night from Maine Municipal Association about how their towns likely would be affected by the Palesky tax cap proposal. According to… Read More
AUGUSTA – Gov. John Baldacci on Wednesday praised the Maine State Chamber of Commerce for declaring its opposition to the property tax cap proposal on the Nov. 2 ballot, saying that it’s the wrong road to tax relief. “I think the chamber is showing leadership… Read More
WINTERPORT – The proposed tax cap to be voted on in November will have “an extremely devastating” effect on SAD 22, possibly resulting in cuts to positions and programs, Superintendent Rick Lyons said Wednesday. If approved by voters, the so-called Palesky initiative would have “vast… Read More
BREWER – Talks about the Palesky tax cap initiative at Monday’s school board meeting centered on the possibility of the department losing teachers and the ability to offer sports, art, music and other extra- and co-curricular activities, Superintendent Betsy Webb said Wednesday. The five-member board… Read More
PORTLAND – Both sides of the tax cap referendum saw something positive in Attorney General Steven Rowe’s opinion that government officials can have limited involvement in the campaign. Leaders of Tax Cap YES! said the attorney general’s four-page opinion agrees with their contention that government… Read More
HOLDEN – After hearing that the Palesky tax cap initiative, set to go before voters in November, would leave the town desperate for cash, the Town Council on Monday night endorsed a resolve supporting the defeat of the measure. “This means if the tax cap… Read More
HOLDEN – There are big questions and few answers about how anti-tax advocate Carol Palesky’s tax cap initiative would affect SAD 63 funding, if voters pass it in November, but Superintendent Louise Regan said Monday that she’s concerned. “The information that I’m hearing about this… Read More
CARMEL – With the prospects of a scant budget next year, Carmel Town Manager Tom Richmond is already preparing his town for life with a tax cap and perhaps without him. If Carmel is forced to drop its mill rate from $18 per $1,000 of… Read More
BANGOR – Superintendent Robert Ervin, painting a bleak picture of what would happen if voters approved a tax cap proposal in November, said Monday that the Palesky initiative would “end public education as we know it.” Emphasizing to the school committee that his comments should… Read More
BANGOR – According to City Manager Ed Barrett, if the Palesky tax cap referendum is passed in November, there will be dire consequences for the city’s parks and recreation program. “We’d end up with a parks system that was not maintained at the level our… Read More
GREENVILLE – This town could potentially lose a community staple if Maine residents adopt the Palesky tax cap in November. Because of the town’s isolation, its high state valuation and declining school enrollment, it’s likely that both Greenville middle and high schools would be forced… Read More
HERMON – As a gunnery officer in the U.S. Navy Reserves, Jack Wibby was instilled with the idea that the only way to do things was the right way and that doing it right sometimes meant doing drills over and over again. And it was… Read More
The four towns that make up School Union 90 will be among the latest to discuss ramifications to their school department budgets if the proposed tax cap initiative passes in November. School committees in Alton, Bradley, Greenbush and Milford each have put the item on… Read More
BANGOR – Tax relief is needed in Maine. That’s one thing both an opponent and proponent of Carol Palesky’s tax cap initiative, which is set to go before voters in November, said while squaring off at the annual Associated Constructors of Maine conference in Bangor. Read More
MONTICELLO – Some have pegged it as tax relief. Some have deemed its potential impact as devastating. While views on the controversial Palesky tax cap are still being decided, administrators in SAD 29 stated their position clearly on Tuesday evening: If approved, the legislation has the potential to… Read More
WASHBURN – SAD 45 became one of the first school districts in Aroostook County to take a stand against the Palesky initiative on Tuesday night after voting to pass a resolution opposing the 1 percent tax cap. Superintendent Brooke Clenchy said Wednesday that the initiative,… Read More
AUGUSTA – The Maine Municipal Association holds its annual convention in a month and this year the focus is the proposed statewide property tax cap that will be on the ballot Nov. 2. Fresh from winning passage of a tax-related citizen initiative of its own,… Read More
The Maine Municipal Association has scheduled several meetings this month at locations throughout the state to answer questions about the tax cap initiative facing voters in November. All meetings will begin at 6:30 p.m. and run until about 8:30 p.m. Attendance is free, but those… Read More
PORTLAND – Elementary school teacher Lois Kilby-Chesley doesn’t know a single teacher who will vote in favor of a property tax cap in November’s referendum. She hopes that type of conviction among Maine’s teachers, as well as other public sector employees, will be enough to… Read More
ORONO – More than 20 town jobs will be cut if voters approve the Palesky Tax Cap in November, according to estimates from town officials. The municipality will face at least $1.7 million in budget cuts, with the most drastic reductions being made to the… Read More
MILO – Town Manager Jane Jones has issued a challenge to supporters of the Palesky tax cap initiative, even Carol Palesky herself: Come to Milo and show her in black and white how the town can operate on 10 mills, or $10 per $1,000 valuation. Read More
DOVER-FOXCROFT – Town Manager Jack Clukey doesn’t have to be a wizard to predict the future of his small community under the Palesky tax-cap initiative. He envisions a town with a skeleton crew, fewer services, and more user fees to replace the revenue lost under… Read More
Thomas McBrierty, a former economic development commissioner in the King administration, will throw his support behind the so-called Palesky property tax cap at a Thursday news conference in Portland. McBrierty, who served during former Gov. Angus King’s first term, said Wednesday the 1 percent cap… Read More
BANGOR – A referendum question asking city voters to ratify debt already authorized by city councilors is headed for Bangor’s Nov. 2 ballot. The Bangor ballot measure aims to address a wrinkle created by another ballot question, namely the Palesky tax cap. googletag.cmd.push(function () {… Read More
HOULTON – This November, taxpayers in the state will vote on the proposed 1 percent tax cap referendum, and the outcome will have lasting effects for towns across the state. In Houlton, municipal officials are preparing for whatever the outcome of that vote may bring. Read More
BANGOR – When Bangor residents adopted the council-manager form of government in 1932, they could not have foreseen it one day might put their community at a fiscal disadvantage. But with support building for a controversial tax cap on the Nov. 2 statewide ballot, that… Read More
Following is the proposed text of the local referendum question Bangor officials are contemplating putting on the Nov. 2 ballot: “Shall the following order be adopted? googletag.cmd.push(function () { // Define Slot var slot_sizes = [[300,250]]; var new_slot_sizes = []; var has_banner = false; for… Read More
AUGUSTA – The chief of the Maine State Chamber of Commerce is urging businesspeople considering a tax cap proposal that will be on Maine ballots in November to give the organization a chance to “place another option on the table.” In a memo distributed this… Read More