Helping Service Centers
Saturday, August 20, 2005 - Bangor Daily News

A proposal to have a portion of new tax revenue in the unorganized territories go to nearby service-center communities is worthy of further consideration. Such thinking is part of the state's push to get communities to work together to reduce the costs of government. It also fits with efforts to ease the tax burden of the state's service center communities.

Greenville Town Manager John Simko this week offered what he called a "provocative" proposal to the Piscataquis county commissioners. Under his plan, 50 percent of new property tax revenue generated in the state's unorganized territories would be shared with nearby service center communities. Half the new taxes generated from new construction, renovations and subdivisions would go into a regional infrastructure fund. This money would be used to help pay for new infrastructure necessary to accommodate the growth around areas like Greenville.

There was little opposition from county commissioners. "Politically, it makes sense," said Commissioner Tom Lizotte.

There are several reasons that the overall idea (the percentage will likely change) makes sense. One is that population growth in the vast unorganized territories far outpaces growth in organized towns. According to the most recent census, the population of Piscataquis County dropped 7 percent between 1990 and 2000. During the same time, the number of people living in the county's unorganized territories grew 20 percent. Between 1980 and 2000, population in the county's unorganized territories grew 77 percent.

While the numbers are small, the trend continues. The number of second homes in the unorganized territories is also growing quickly. While many people head to the unorganized territories for solitude, they often still expect some services. Many of those services, fire protection, medical care and cultural activities are provided by and in service centers.

The situation has become strained as much attention has been focused on tax rates in recent years. The mill rate in the unorganized territories averages about half that in organized territories. The lower taxes are possible in large part because school costs are shared equally among all unorganized territory taxpayers, including large landowners that own most of the north woods and require few services.

The idea behind the Greenville proposal also makes sense because it fits with the many efforts currently under way to help service center communities and to encourage regional planning and cooperation. According to a Maine Municipal Association group working on the issue, the mill rates in service center communities are, on average, 4 mills higher than those in surrounding communities. To combat this, the MMA group suggests a study of county government with an eye toward reforming how it is financed. It also calls for review of local option sales taxes, assistance for communities with a lot of tax exempt property and more regional planning.

As Maine's most rural areas are growing and its service centers suffering, it naturally makes sense to look for ways to equitably spread the cost of services used by both residents of downtowns and unorganized territories. This proposal could be part of the answer.