Millinocket property tax rate decrease expected
10/23/09 | 9 comments

Millinocket property tax rate decrease expected


By Nick Sambides Jr.
BDN Staff

MILLINOCKET, Maine — Taxpayers likely will get a tax break of about $1.30 per $1,000 of taxable property in the first-half municipal tax bills they will receive late next week, Assessor Michael Noble said Thursday.

Noble, who sets the town tax rate as the assessor, discussed how much to lower the town’s present mill rate of 24.2 mills with the Town Council during its meeting Thursday. He presented to the council possible new mill rates of 23.6 or 23.1 mills, but councilors opted to lower it further, to what Noble believes will be 22.9 mills, he said.

Councilors set the lowest rate by dipping into the school system’s anticipated $512,000 budget surplus by $250,000, $100,000 more than Noble and Town Manager Eugene Conlogue advised. The increased allocation leaves a town budget surplus of just more than $1.9 million, up from $1.8 million as of July 2008.

If the new mill rate is set today at precisely 22.9 mills, that means that taxpayers would pay $22.90 per $1,000 of taxable property, or a person who owns a $100,000 house would pay $2,290 in taxes this year. That would represent a reduction of $130 over last year’s tax rate for the same homeowner.

Councilors were miffed that the school system’s budget had such a large overage and that school officials failed to get their budgeting information to town hall more quickly. This effectively forced councilors to help decide on a new mill rate and amend the town’s budget at the last minute, as first-half tax payments are due on Nov. 20 and tax bills haven’t gone out yet, councilors said.

“We all had heartburn passing last year’s school budget, and now we find out that we have given them an extra $512,000 that they didn’t need,” Councilor James Mingo said. “I think that money should be returned to the taxpayer. They should see that money come back to them this year. The fact of the matter is, when you overtax people, you should pay them back for it.”

The overage is especially irksome, Councilor Jimmy Busque said, given that school officials were quick to criticize councilors last spring for not fully funding the requested Millinocket School Committee budget.

Noble and Conlogue didn’t disagree with councilors opting for the lowest mill rate, but felt that leaving more money in the town’s budget surplus would be a good idea. The surplus is the town’s rainy day fund, the money the council looks for to handle unanticipated expenses or emergencies.

Conlogue and councilors outlined several possible areas of shortfall in the town’s anticipated income, including shortages in state education funding and other programs likely to face cuts because of the state government’s anticipated $100 million deficit.

“There is always good reason to want to reduce taxes ... but these are the things lurking around the corner,” Conlogue said. “We don’t want to put ourselves in a bind.”

Mingo and Councilor David Cyr said the lowest tax rate would be a good economic development incentive and would help residents get through these difficult economic times.

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Comments
9 comments on this item
On 10/23/09 at 12:56 AM, anotherneighbor wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Ya know if Sara Albert and the school board screwed up that badly... maybe it will be a wake up call to those that keep voting in the same school board member(s) year after year after year!

I hear the power school waste of money is still as far behind and wrong there as it is in East? What a waste to pay people to put grades in a computer program that no one can run properly or efficiently. Scrap it. Save the taxpayers some more money!

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On 10/23/09 at 7:29 AM, jcarrme wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

WOW, expensive town to live in? What is the average value of a home in Millinocket?

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On 10/23/09 at 12:02 PM, MagicCity wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Once they get rid of a certain police officer who id the local DARE officer and who uses the cruiser as his private brothel, they will be able afford to give more tax breaks.

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On 10/23/09 at 7:40 PM, anotherneighbor wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

lol MagicCity - while the reason listed and giggled at on that article about that officer. Make good reading they are far from the MAIN reason. Read my posts.... Millinocket is getting used to paying court costs. The real reason - will make those costs seem like chump change.

jcarrme - I got a house valued at $75000+ a year and a half ago for $39000 in March 09 and that's in East. In Millinocket it would have probably gone for $20000 to $25000 tops. Every other house there is either for sale because the bread winner got another job in another state. Or because the bank took it when the mills closed. Be very cautious though. Millinocket doesn't like no scratch that hates anyone not born and bred there. You must have a family tree branch back to the very man that built the first shack in Little Italy or forget it.

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On 10/23/09 at 9:57 PM, wspahn wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

You exaggerate, anotherneighbor.

... But only a little.

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On 10/24/09 at 12:03 AM, MagicCity wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Millinocket: One set of chromosones, not a full brain among the leaders.

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On 10/24/09 at 3:33 PM, RattyMatty wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

So have the people in Millinocket finally found out that the school budget has been little more than larceny all this time?

Three science teachers in the middle school. One teacher can't handle the 160 children in three grades? Ok. How about two teachers?

Talk about padding! Not to mention nepotism.

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On 10/26/09 at 12:46 AM, anotherneighbor wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

And they continue to pay the teacher at the high school whose Monday morning curriculum consists of - how many trips he made up the Golden Road and how many bowls he did over the weekend? I wonder if anyone in Millinocket is fed up enough after reading about this surplus money to get off their butts and see what it entails to re-call or fire the obvious head of the scam to defraud the taxpayers of Millinocket. You know the same one that handed out pink slips like candy on trick or treat? Because he was 100000000000000% sure there would be no money to pay them? And let's not forget the fact that they voted to not re-new her contract yet she's still there. Let's not forget all the lying about we aren't hiring a principal for the Middle School yet they did. Sure it was just a game to get rid of the one they didn't want anymore. Why? Oh heck not cause she wasn't doing her job. Never there. Did I say never there ? They wanted to get rid of her because the other Principal was tired of doing her work and his. BUT the fact remains the school board I think all but 2 were there then. Lied to the people. And did little to nothing more than but but but but when confronted the next budget time. Someone's responsible for the math. Maybe its time someone answers for it? If you stole that much from your job would you be fired? Call it stealing, call it hiding, call it a huge mathematical error- someone is still responsible.

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On 10/26/09 at 4:35 AM, SinCity wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

ole Arnie Hopkins is going to have fun with this one.

go get em Arnie!

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