Westport Island Selectmen announced in their meeting March 11, the State Board of Property Tax Appeal’s board has ruled in favor of the town on an appeal brought by Rum Cove, and are waiting for a decision on another appeal brought by the Greenleaf Cove Association that was heard last week in Augusta by the state board.

The Rum Cove appeal was related to a rejection by the town on an application for an abatement based on a tree growth classification. According to the written decision, “The board concluded that the taxpayer did not meet its burden to prove that the property had been substantially overvalued by virtue of it not being classified as Tree Growth property.

“The statutory definition for forestland that would qualify for tree growth classification requires land is used 'primarily for growth of trees to be harvested for commercial use.' The fact is that the property currently restricted-can never be used for commercial activity.”

Rum Cove applied for a Tree Growth classification on or about March 27, 2008; the assessors denied the classification and committed the taxes based on the full valuation for the April 2008 tax year. Rum Cove applied for an abatement based on the Tree Growth classification.

In a vote of 3-1 the petition for abatement by Rum Cove was denied by the state board.

The appeal was heard by the state board on October 2011, and the decision was signed January 23, 2012. However, the Town of Westport Island or the town’s Attorney William Dale were not aware of the decision until this past week while working on the Greenleaf Cove appeal.

A decision in the Greenleaf Cove Association’s appeal is expected sometime in May, according to First Selectman George Richardson.

Town meeting rescheduled/RSU budget hearings

Due to the June 11 vote of the Sheepscot Valley Regional School Unit budget, the town must change its town meeting date to June 22, with the town election on June 11 instead of June 28.

The RSU 12 will hold three regional budget meetings to vote on the school 2013-2014 school budget; Somerville Elementary school, March 13, 6-9 p.m.; Wiscasset High School, March 20, 6-9 p.m.; and the Windsor Elementary School, March 27, 6-9 p.m.

First Selectman George Richardson will be attending the Mid-Coast Municipal Managers Association meeting in Rockland, Friday, March 15, and guest speaker for the event will be Jim Rier, Deputy Commissioner of Education.   

Ordinances review

The selectmen had their final review of the Mobile Home Park and Mobile Home Ordinance at their meeting. The proposed ordinances will be reviews by the planning board, and again by Attorney William Dale, before a public hearing will be scheduled.

The changes in several other ordinances, the Mobile Home Park and the Mobile Home ordinances are scheduled to be voted on at the town’s annual town meeting.

Public hearings on budget proposals

The public hearings on Gov. Paul LePage’s proposed two-year state budget with the Appropriation Committee began Wednesday March 13, and will continue into Thursday, March 14, in room 228 of the Cross State Office building in Augusta.

In an email from Geoff Herman from the Maine Municipal Association, he encouraged town officials to take advantage of the opportunity to testify in opposition to the Governor’s proposals.

According to Herman, the items that are the greatest concern for towns, and municipalities include: Homestead Property tax exemption replacing it with one limited to homeowners 65 and older; Elderly Tax Deferral program; Tree Growth reimbursement; suspending revenue sharing for 2014-2015; and shifting excise taxes paid by tractor-trailer owners from municipal to state coffers.

According to Herman, the Appropriations Committee will be meeting jointly with the Taxation Committee on Wednesday, March 13 and with the Transportation Committee on Thursday.

It is expected there will be strong opposition to the governor’s proposals from town and city representatives. With the decrease in revenues, the burden will fall back on the taxpayers, who will pay higher tax rates on their property, creating a difficult two years for towns to develop budgets without cutting services, and decreasing personnel.  

Charlotte Boynton can be reached at 207-844-4632 or cboynton@wiscassetnewspaper.com.