POLAND – Town officials turned down a proposal to participate in a test court case set for filing if the upcoming tax cap referendum passes.

Attorney Mitchell Feeney, on behalf of Maine Municipal Association’s Bond Bank, wants to sue Poland in order to clear up ambiguities that pertain to municipal debt in the Palesky referendum limiting property taxes to 1 percent of assessed value. The Bond Bank would arrange for Poland’s legal representation and pay all costs, Feeney said.

Feeney, who practices with Jim Mitchell and Jed Davis, P.A. of Augusta, serves as general counsel for the statewide bond-holder of about $1 billion. The Bond Bank is prepared to file suit against towns if the tax cap passes the day after the election. Bucksport has already agreed, said Feeney. Auburn and Presque Isle are being considered as well, according to an Oct. 12 letter from James Mitchell.

But Poland’s selectmen wouldn’t bite.

“This gentleman is asking to sue you, and the counsel who is going to defend you is not even in the damn room,” said Selectman David Corcoran. “I don’t understand the thought process here.”

Corcoran, Glenn Peterson and Steve Robinson voted against the proposal. Selectman Bud Jordan voted in favor of the lawsuit on the condition it cost the town nothing, and Selectwoman Wendy Sanborn abstained because she did not have enough information.

“Why stand up and make yourself a target?” asked Peterson, chairman of Poland’s Board of Selectmen.

“If this tax cap passes, there are going to be major changes to towns,” said Feeney at Tuesday’s Board of Selectmen meeting. “There’s going to be huge amounts of litigation over the constitutionality and the applicability. There are going to be tons of lawsuits.”

The MMA Bond Bank chose Poland because of its unique set of circumstances in town bond approval. The town has a mixture of bonds approved before and after 1999, which is a baseline year for the referendum’s tax restrictions. It also has a mixture of bonds that were approved by general election and town meeting votes. They finance both school and municipal projects.

“Poland happens to present an interesting set of facts,” said Feeney. “And we need a set of facts to present.”

Feeney tried to convince selectmen that they would benefit from immediate answers as to which debts would be allowed and how much money could be raised in property taxes outside of the 1 percent cap if the referendum passes. Feeney described the debt exceptions in the referendum as complicated and needing court clarification.

“The worse case scenario would be that the court comes back and says, No, the exceptions don’t apply to Poland bond,'” said Feeney. “The Bond Bank will pay all legal fees, we have counsel selected. All that we would require is some cooperation on getting records.”

Robinson said that the implications of being a defendant in a lawsuit could affect future bond ratings or the town’s ability to borrow money in the future. He added that legal questions over town debt would be decided by the courts whether Poland participated in any lawsuit as plaintive or defendant.

Town Manager Richard Chick said the town’s bond counsel neither supported nor opposed the test court case proposal. The town is already assuming that all of its debt will be allowed in addition to the 1 percent property tax cap, Chick said.