JAY – Wausau Paper mill and its equipment set to cease operations on May 31 were valued for tax purposes at $32 million here and about $43 million in Livermore Falls in 2008, according to town officials.

The fate of the mill and its paper machines once Wausau closes are unknown for now, except that company officials said that the facilities won’t be sold to a paper company in North America.

If the machines are sold and moved off the property and the mill itself demolished, then the towns will lose a significant amount of tax revenue in future years.

The mill straddles the town lines, with most of the two paper machines in Livermore Falls. The majority of the mill’s value is in personal property equipment, including those machines.

However, both towns entered into 20-year tax increment financing agreements in 1996, so that the mill would get some of its taxes back to re-invest in upgrading equipment and machinery.

In Jay, the company was assessed $417,623 in taxes with $68,774 of it returned under the TIF agreement. After some other state programs such as the business equipment tax reimbursement and business equipment tax exemption, the net paid in taxes to Jay is $245,159, Town Manager Ruth Marden said.

In Livermore Falls, the company was assessed $651,579.80 in taxes, but after $267,740.20 was deducted for TIF funds, that left $382,839.60 in taxes paid to the town, interim Town Manager Kristal Flagg said.

It’s a lot of money to lose, she said.