JAY — Selectpersons supported legislation Monday to modify state revenue sharing and school funding to protect the town from losses resulting from the reduced value of the Androscoggin Paper Mill.

The town wants its reduced valuation for 2015 to be calculated into the state’s funding formulas for this year.

Selectpersons reduced Verso Androscoggin LLC’s mill and associated property for the April 1, 2013, tax year from $851.4 million to $591.9 million in January after factoring in tax-exempt property. The town had a valuation done of the mill after the company filed for a tax abatement of the 2013 tax year in 2014. The company has since appealed the $829,258 tax abatement and filed for a second abatement for the April 1, 2014, tax year. Verso officials say the mill and property is significantly overvalued.

The town used the reduced valuation to commit taxes in 2014.

The state has factored in the town’s reduced valuation for 2015, which is $801.9 million down from just over a $1 billion in 2014. The decrease will affect the amount of revenue sharing the town will receive and the amount of county taxes Jay will pay as well as the other towns in the county.

When it comes to factoring in general purpose aid for education, the state uses an average of three years of valuations of towns, which for Jay is $992.6 million in 2012 and just over $1 billion in both 2013 and 2014, Town Manager Shiloh LaFreniere said. That means Jay’s reduced valuation will not be reflected in the general purpose aid for school funding formula until 2016 the way it stands now, LaFreniere said.

Jay is one of three towns in Regional School Unit 73 that also serves Livermore and Livermore Falls.

There is currently emergency legislation being proposed by the towns of Madison and Skowhegan that would recognize the loss in valuation for the purpose of state valuation and school funding because of decreased values of paper mills in those towns.

“It typically takes two years for the state valuation to be affected and three years for the school funding formula,” LaFreniere said. “We are proposing an amendment to include Jay.”

The Legislature’s Taxation Committee is holding a public hearing on LD 281 and LD 282 at 10 a.m. Wednesday, Feb. 25, in room 127 of the State House in Augusta.

LD 281 asks the Legislature to modify the state valuation of the town of Madison to reflect the loss in valuation of the Madison Paper Co. and to modify the state valuation of the town of Skowhegan to reflect the loss in valuation of the S.D. Warren Company.

LD 282 proposes an act to modify the state valuation loss of the town of Madison to reflect the loss in valuation of the Madison Paper Co., to modify the state valuation of the town of Skowhegan to reflect the loss in valuation of the S.D. Warren Co. and to amend the law governing school subsidy distribution in the circumstance of sudden loss in municipal valuation.

dperry@sunmediagroup.net

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