Rumford tax rate jumps 22½ percent

RUMFORD — A drop in the valuation of NewPage Corp. and Brookfield Power Co. has resulted in a 22.5 percent increase in taxes for this town's property owners.

At a special selectmen's meeting Monday night, Town Manager Carlo Puiia told the board and the two dozen or so residents who attended that the Board of Assessors is expected to sign the tax commitment papers for a tax rate of $24 per $1,000 valuation later this week.

That's up from the current rate of $19.60 per $1,000 valuation.

"The mill has always been all things to all people. It won't be anymore," said Selectman Rob Cameron, a former mill employee who was laid off from his job a couple of years ago.

The value of the mill dropped $93 million and the value of Brookfield Power Co., which once was a part of the mill's holdings, dropped $18 million, resulting in a reduction in the value of the town from $614 million to $499 million.

The new tax rate would have been even higher if the amount of retained funds the town uses to pay bills before new taxes start flowing in had not been reduced. According to state law, a town the size of Rumford should retain between 10 and 15 percent of its budget for that purpose. Puiia said the amount was reduced to 12 percent, which enabled a tax rate of $24.

Puiia said the tax bills will be mailed out by Oct. 16.

Because residents approved an Oct. 1 due date for the first half of taxes at the June annual town meeting, a special town meeting was set for 5:30 p.m. Oct. 15 to move that date to Nov. 16 without an interest penalty. Also at the special town meeting, residents will decide whether to reduce the amount of interest owed on unpaid portions of property taxes from 9 percent to 5 percent.

Puiia said because the town experienced such a severe decline in valuation, it may qualify for "sudden and severe loss of valuation" through the Maine Revenue Service. If the town should qualify, that means the amount the town would owe as its share of school district costs would be based on same year valuation, rather than the normal one-year lag time between current valuation and school tax assessment.

In the meantime, Selectman Mark Belanger suggested that the board set a goal of cost savings for the remainder of the fiscal year that could be carried over to be applied to next year's tax rate. That item will be included on Thursday's regular selectmen's meeting agenda.

eadams@sunjournal.com