DIXFIELD — The town will host an informational meeting on tax-increment financing programs Nov. 7, and Town Manager Eugene Skibitsky is hoping taxpayers will attend.
Laura Santini-Smith, director of the Tax Incentives Program with the Maine Department of Economic and Community Development, will present information and answer questions. Mike Rogers of Maine Revenue Services will also attend the meeting.
Skibitsky is concerned that residents might not realize the potential impact a project the size of the proposed wind-energy farm would mean, not just for the town but for each taxpayer.
"We hope to learn what an economic tool a TIF can be," he said.
Patriots Renewable LLC of Quincy, Mass., first approached the town in 2009 about constructing 13 wind turbines on Colonel Holman Mountain. The project would cost $40 million to $66 million and drastically increase the valuation of the town.
When a town's valuation increases at a drastic rate, multiple issues within the town budget can arise, the town manager said.
"The town's revenue-sharing can go down," he said. "The cost of school subsidies can go up, as can county taxes. A TIF can help to shelter the valuation of the town and allow us to use the money for economic development projects."
Skibitsky said he hopes Santini-Smith can help explain the guidelines involved with a TIF program and what projects the money can be used for.
Dan McKay of Dixfield announced at a selectmen meeting Monday that he is writing a wind ordinance for the town to protect the town and its taxpayers.
Voters in 2010 defeated a proposal by McKay and Freemont Tibbets that would have banned wind projects on Colonel Holman and Sugarloaf mountains because it called for zoning.
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It just might be wise to take
It just might be wise to take a critical view at the future outlook of wind power before assessing it's relationship to the future of town resources..............."Court Puts Cape Wind On Hold" ...........You might be gambling away the taxpayer's hard-earned dollars for glory of short term windfalls..............Wind Power, a "Gift Horse" or a " Trojan Horse " ?
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Would you like to respond? Login or create a new account. You'll need to verify your account before you can respond.The story is about a buyer
The story is about a buyer for property( 1.2 miles away from a proposed Wind turbine) walks away.
NO SALE
We DID NOT talk to the town manager, even though my correspondence was addressed to him. He forwarded the e-mail I sent him, requesting a meeting, to the Assessor contracted by the Town. Town Manager chose not to 'deal with us' and passed us on to the Assessor instead. It was pretty blatant and disrespectful.
The Assessor is like a guard dog, trained to attack. He was arrogant, aggressive and condescending. When he realized we were not intimidated, he offered to go to our property on the Road and "re-assess" to see if there was something he could "do for us" to keep us happy. It was pretty obvious that he did not want us conferring or rallying the troops on the Road . He does not want them aware of the fact that their property values have already been adversely affected, yet they are still paying taxes on an assessed amount that is now falsley high. They want the people affected to pay the inflated tax on their devalued land for as long as they are ignorant enough to do so. He gave us a big song and dance about adjusting our value, we parted and never heard from him again.
Please use our story to help get the word out that not all the crooks are in Washington DC. I'm sure Patriots Renewables are having good laugh about the naivete' and ignorance of Maine's small town citizens.
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Would you like to respond? Login or create a new account. You'll need to verify your account before you can respond.drastically increase the value of the town
A short term in crease in valuation (5 years of accelerated depreciation) will be more than off set by property owners asking for tax abatements.
There are over 435 parcels of property with-in 2+- miles of proposed turbine centers.
Will the value go down?
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/story/2011/09/30/ontario-wind-power...
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