AUBURN – A tax reform package is moving along quicker than expected, according to Mayor John Jenkins.

“We might even have something happen on it this year,” Jenkins told city councilors Monday night.

Jenkins met with the Legislature’s Taxation Committee in Augusta to talk about his proposals Monday afternoon.

“They’re working very hard, and they have a lot of ideas to consider,” he said. “Now, it’s in their court.”

Jenkins said he’s continuing to work with city staff to formalize his reform ideas. They consist of two areas – things the City Council can do now and things the state rules prevent. He’s asking the Legislature to change some of those rules.

Auburn could adopt a spending cap now, he said. He’s proposing to limit spending to national inflation standards. He would also limit new tax-exempt developments in the city.

“Once a tax-exempt group buys a property, it goes right off of the tax rolls,” he said. “The share that used to be paid gets absorbed by the rest of the taxpayers.”

Jenkins also suggested setting aside a portion of all new tax increment finance money specifically for tax relief. That would take money from new developments and pay for aid to senior citizens or an Auburn tax rebate program.

Jenkins said he’d need state help to let cities charge a sales tax on real estate sales, however.

“I think we could convince the buyer and the seller that this is a good idea because it’s keeping their property taxes low,” he said. He’s also proposing an environmental impact fee, similar to Lewiston’s storm sewer fee.

Councilor Eric Samson said he is in favor of the spending cap, but has questions on the rest. Putting TIF money in the General Fund could cause the city to lose aid to education, he said.

“And I’m confused about how the tax-exempt property part would work,” he said.

Jenkins said he’s still refining the plan. He removed one prominent part, calling for uniform per acre land fee because of taxpayer comments. One citizen pointed out that he owned acres of land full of granite ledge that made development expensive.

“So not all land is created equal, and you can’t tax it like it is,” he said.