ROXBURY – A tax specialist fielded numerous questions at Tuesday night’s selectmen meeting from townspeople concerned about tax implications of a proposed wind-power project.

Several questioned Michael Rogers of the Property Tax Division of Maine Revenue Services about tax-increment financing, a public financing method that typically offers reduced property taxes in exchange for economic development.

People wanted to know whether it would be beneficial for the town to enter into such an agreement with a wind-power company.

“It’s solely the town’s decision,” Rogers said. “No TIF money can go into the general fund, because a TIF is designed for qualified projects that create economic development.”

A proposed $120 million, 55-megawatt wind-power project by Record Hill Wind LLC and another such project by a different company prompted the concern, said Board of Selectmen Chairman John Sutton.

However, Sutton said, Record Hill Wind, which plans to build 22 turbines on Roxbury hills, isn’t asking for a TIF, which would

That project is under review by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection.

Without naming the second company, Sutton and a few in the crowd said it usually seeks TIFs.

“The purpose of a TIF is economic development for a region,” Rogers said. Originally, it was designed to bring jobs.

“You want to ensure that it will be beneficial for the town and not the developers,” Rogers said. “A TIF shelters the taxable value and removes your people’s vote for 20 to 30 years once they approve it.”

Townspeople also had questions about Maine’s Tree Growth Tax Law, which allows landowners to place trees in growth in exchange for lower property taxes.

However, if someone builds a windmill, the land on which the windmill is placed will increase in value, Rogers said.

Still, Rogers added, after a multimillion-dollar wind turbine facility is built in town, taxpayers will lose school subsidies, while conversely realizing a sharp decrease in property taxes for two to three years.

“You’d be creating economic development in the area,” he said.

Rogers agreed to create some multi-year projection spreadsheets using known facts so that selectmen and residents would better understand taxation benefits.