FRENCHBORO, Maine — As with heating fuel, gas prices, insurance costs and other escalating expenses, property tax increases have been a challenge for many people affected by the sagging economy.
But on this offshore island town, located about seven miles south of Mount Desert Island in the Gulf of Maine, a convergence of many economic forces has resulted in a property tax increase that has left some landowners aghast. According to local residents and officials, Frenchboro is seeking to raise approximately 70 percent more in property taxes than it did the previous fiscal year.
As a result, many taxpayers are seeing corresponding increases of 70 percent or more on their tax bills. According to some residents, a few of them have responded by demanding copies of town documents and others have flat-out refused to pay.
“There’s a bit of a tax revolt here,” Arthur Fernald, a former local selectman and the town’s harbormaster, said Friday. He said his taxes are increasing about 70 percent, from $1,154 to $1,941.
Mike Rogers, supervisor of municipal services for Maine Revenue Service, said Friday that the hike in local property taxes has prompted many Frenchboro taxpayers to contact MRS about state laws on how property taxes are collected.
“I’ve gotten a lot of calls about Frenchboro,” Rogers said. “There’s a lot of confusion out there.”
Robert Stuart, chairman of the town’s board of selectmen, said Friday that the increases, when reported by percentage, appear higher because the town budget is relatively low. The total amount of money the town appropriated in property taxes during the 2010-2011 fiscal year is $164,520. This year, the town is looking to appropriate around $275,000.
“A $20,000 [addition to] a $160,000 budget is a lot bigger than on a $1.6 million budget,” Stuart said.
Of the increases to the town budget, $20,000 is for needed fire department equipment and training, and $30,000 has been reserved to help pay for a new town wharf, Stuart said. The town also is facing higher heating costs and higher snowplowing costs, and it has less taxable property because of the sale last year of about 500 acres of land on three Frenchboro islands to Maine Coast Heritage Trust.
“It’s no one factor,” Stuart said.
Stuart added that the higher 2011-2012 budget was approved overwhelmingly by the 30 or so voters who attended Frenchboro’s annual town meeting last summer.
The town also faces higher education expenses. According to MDI schools Superintendent Rob Liebow, changes in the state’s education subsidy formula have resulted in Frenchboro receiving about $40,000 less from the state at the same time that the town is sending two students to MDI High School, after having sent none last year. The total cost for school tuition and for boarding those two students on MDI is about $25,000 he said.
Gerd Hasal, who spends winters in Rockport, said Friday that his property taxes are going up from $1,650 to $3,162, an increase of about 92 percent.
He said he has requested copies of documents from the town that would explain how the selectmen, who also serve as assessors, came up with each taxpayer’s bill. He said the town has yet to provide copies of the documents he has asked for.
“I know the numbers are most likely inaccurate,” Hasal said. “The majority of people [on Frenchboro] are upset.”
Mike Colleran, Frenchboro’s town administrator, said Friday that since the tax bills were mailed out last month, town officials have realized they made a mistake by using different assessment formulas for different properties. He said selectmen have voided the bills that were sent out but plan to meet next week to review and approve the amended assessments.
“There will be new tax bills sent out,” Colleran said.
The budget approved at town meeting last summer is expected to remain the same.
I don’t see why these land trusts should be exempt from property taxes. What a burden on the rest of the property owners in town.
But it makes the rich feel good about themselves.
I think you will find that most land trusts are made up of regular people from the community. It’s true that the wealthy help quite a bit with funding, but the people doing the work are regular Mainers.
You mean the local people are being pawns in a big game of monopley just as Roxanne Quimby is twisting arms to get her way in Northern Maine.
They may be a 501 (c) 3, but they are not exempt from property taxes. There is a similar organization that owns a sizable portion of our town and when we faced a 68% property tax increase a couple of years ago, we started taxing them accordingly.
Also, the residents have a little responsibility in this for approving the budget at town meeting. If it’s anything like our town, which I believe it probably is, every article on the warrant that involves spending gets approved with very little debate. When I get our town book prior to town meeting, I take a look at all of the articles and total up the spending to see what our overall increase will be. Town meeting is progressively becoming more poorly attended from year to year. People can’t complain if they don’t speak up or attend.
I have been made aware of one meeting in my town over the last six months. It concerned fireworks for 4th of july. Not everyone has the time/money to plan and ensure that their voice is heard in their local government(see republic). I would like to see the government, with all of it’s other appointed powers, to be responsible for hearing the voice of the people. Truly, I would like to see this country turn towards a deeper democracy, as I would appreciate the chance to vote on any legislation that effects my state, my country, my town.
“Not everyone has the time/money to plan and ensure that their voice is heard in their local government(see republic).”
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Forgive me if I’m misunderstanding what you said, but it is up to us to stay on top of these things. If we don’t have the time, then we need to prioritize and make time. It’s our government, whether or not it is at the local, state, or federal level.
“The price of freedom is eternal vigilance.” (Thomas Jefferson)
“Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom, must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it.” (Thomas Paine)
Just wait until Roxanne Quimby gets done with Northern Maine. Unless laws are changed 2/3 of the state are going to be tax exemt. The only property that should have any tax break is that is owned by the state or local goverment and that can’t be then five acres for 2 years or has a municipal building or school setting on it.
bw68 has a point. If the land is in Maine, then it’s subject to assessment. And if the land goes back to State ownership thru the tax system, it can’t necessarily be such a bad thing. Once the logging issues are agreed to by all, maybe the State can finally start getting it’s percentage of tax revenue it needs from the sales and lease’s. Not to mention the jobs that would be created thru the needing of the tress to be felled, transported and milled. Hmm, sounds like a plan, don’t it ? And it beats working at Marden’s too.
Fire some selectmen if they approved it. Take care of your people and they will take care of you.
It really sounds like they took numbers out of the air and assesed individuals at different rates with absolutely no true research into increasing taxes. It is almost prjudicial I might assume. Summer residents got a bigger increase than permanent residents.
Summer residents are a good deal for the town. No kids are in schools and they don’t use transfer stations or other refuse services all year long. Yet, they are being taxed higher.
I’m sure the summer residents get accused of getting a “free ride,” too. Some ride.
Higher heating costs ? In a winter that so far is one of the warmest ? Not to mention oil prices are a little lower.
Isn’t this why the Quimby land gift is a controversy? With more and more land being donated and therefore tax exempt the burden of town services falls on fewer and fewer people. Over time normal people can’t afford to live in places their families settled 200+ years ago.
generally, there are different tax rates for different land uses. there is the Tree Growth Exception which exempts forested lands from taxation, as well as different tax rates for residential, farm land, etc.
Tree Growth doesn’t exempt land from taxation, but it often does lower the taxes to the landowner. The value of the trees is different every year, so the tax bill is different every year…and the state sets this number. I wish timber sold for what the state seems to think it’s worth, particular when they need more revenue. (Kinda like how my camp valuation goes up when the town needs more revenue, despite actual land values tanking.)
I would far rather that our property be valued by a Certified Maine Assessor rather than by the Selectmen — well meaning but possibly lacking the valuation skills needed to make accurate appraisals. Adding to that problem is a lack of good “comps” (comparable sales) and a tendency of the locals to hit those from away with “welcome stranger” appraisals. The budget is the budget, however.
Sounds like they’ve been annexed by Taxachusetts when they weren’t looking?
Towns that raise the value of property way beyond the appraisal value – are committing fraud – plain and simple. Their value should match the appraisal and what the property would REALLY sell for.
Only if it is aucually paid for and not fianaced and foreclosed on later. As we have learned these appraisers don’t know beans about property values and are swayed by real estate commissions and bank interest. A home owner in my neighborhood was trying to sell her home for 50,000 about what it may have been worth without a broker. A broker came to her and convinced her it was worth 100,000 and it was appraised and sold for over 100,ooo with the variase goverement agancys helping a a single mother on welfare arrange the financing and helping her make the payments. Anyway two years later it was it was foreclosed on and sold at auction and paid for for 30,000 leaving all the homes in the neighborhood over valued and over taxed because they are taking the sale of this house into consideration in their appraisals because it sold for so much, but it did not bring that price because it was not aucually paid for. I’n my opionion. Although the owner received a lot of money and everyone received a fat commission the home was never sold because the buyer never paid for it so how can they base any appraisal on it.
Only if it is aucually paid for and not fianaced and foreclosed on later. As we have learned these appraisers don’t know beans about property values and are swayed by real estate commissions and bank interest. A home owner in my neighborhood was trying to sell her home for 50,000 about what it may have been worth without a broker. A broker came to her and convinced her it was worth 100,000 and it was appraised and sold for over 100,ooo with the variase goverement agancys helping a a single mother on welfare arrange the financing and helping her make the payments. Anyway two years later it was it was foreclosed on and sold at auction and paid for for 30,000 leaving all the homes in the neighborhood over valued and over taxed because they are taking the sale of this house into consideration in their appraisals because it sold for so much, but it did not bring that price because it was not aucually paid for. I’n my opionion. Although the owner received a lot of money and everyone received a fat commission the home was never sold because the buyer never paid for it so how can they base any appraisal on it.
Only if it is aucually paid for and not fianaced and foreclosed on later. As we have learned these appraisers don’t know beans about property values and are swayed by real estate commissions and bank interest. A home owner in my neighborhood was trying to sell her home for 50,000 about what it may have been worth without a broker. A broker came to her and convinced her it was worth 100,000 and it was appraised and sold for over 100,ooo with the variase goverement agancys helping a a single mother on welfare arrange the financing and helping her make the payments. Anyway two years later it was it was foreclosed on and sold at auction and paid for for 30,000 leaving all the homes in the neighborhood over valued and over taxed because they are taking the sale of this house into consideration in their appraisals because it sold for so much, but it did not bring that price because it was not aucually paid for. I’n my opionion. Although the owner received a lot of money and everyone received a fat commission the home was never sold because the buyer never paid for it so how can they base any appraisal on it.
Only if it is aucually paid for and not fianaced and foreclosed on later. As we have learned these appraisers don’t know beans about property values and are swayed by real estate commissions and bank interest. A home owner in my neighborhood was trying to sell her home for 50,000 about what it may have been worth without a broker. A broker came to her and convinced her it was worth 100,000 and it was appraised and sold for over 100,ooo with the variase goverement agancys helping a a single mother on welfare arrange the financing and helping her make the payments. Anyway two years later it was it was foreclosed on and sold at auction and paid for for 30,000 leaving all the homes in the neighborhood over valued and over taxed because they are taking the sale of this house into consideration in their appraisals because it sold for so much, but it did not bring that price because it was not aucually paid for. I’n my opionion. Although the owner received a lot of money and everyone received a fat commission the home was never sold because the buyer never paid for it so how can they base any appraisal on it.
The issue, other than an inept town management, is the 501(c) 3’s. These things are set up explicitly as a tax dodge. A group of people (usually from away) get together and want to rehab, or purchase some existing property. They spend the $700 or so on getting a 501, and enjoy tax exempt status. In our downtown, most of the building are covered by these tax dodges. Yet, we continue to get more and more of these things. When the downtown doesn’t pay it’s share of commercial property values, the rest of the town bears the burden.
We need to get our legislature and Washington to look into these 501’s.
By the way, these tax free entities primarily serve themselves, and occasionally the community. I won’t say all of them are a dodge, but a good portion are.
So the government says “we need more money” then proceeds to just take it. I understand we all pay taxes and that it is our duty, but when I need more money, I buy less of the things that I don’t need to survive or raise my children. I don’t have the option of just taking more from my employer. Perhaps a streamlined appraisal of what spending is absolutely needed (we can’t afford to be losing money through cracks nowadays), and maybe, just maybe, we should evaluate the roll of government in our lives. Growing up, it was my understanding that the government was limited to protecting person and property from those who wish to harm. Now, I know I am getting off point, but our state can’t survive if the majority is relying on funding and programs from the taxes of the few that still actually work.
Ocean property and Ocean views cost a lot in America. Live with it or MOVE !!!!!!!!!!!!