Bangor property taxpayers should take notice. You will see a significant increase in your property taxes this year if proposed legislation regarding the state mandated municipal general assistance program is passed.
Municipal general assistance is outlined and defined in state law as a financial assistance program for persons who show demonstrated need for housing, food, fuel and basic living necessities. The state mandates that a municipality must provide assistance to any applicant who demonstrates need and does not cap the amount of taxpayer money used for the program. In addition, the state and federal constitutions prohibit municipalities from applying any residency requirement.
In other words, the constitution and state law require that the city must keep an open checkbook with minimal local control to manage, filter or control the program costs.
In return for the municipality managing and using local taxpayer money for this program, the state has a reimbursement program to pay back 50 percent. For those municipalities which exceed a state formulated amount, the state reimbursement rate changes to 90 percent for any additional general assistance support.
For Bangor, the 50 percent reimbursement rate ends at approximately $750,000. The remaining funds distributed through the general assistance program are reimbursed at the 90 percent level. To put it in perspective, in 2011 Bangor’s mandated general assistance was more than $3.5 million.
Lewiston and Portland also consistently surpass the state formulated threshold and therefore are reimbursed at the 90 percent level.
At this very moment, the Legislature is trying hard to fill holes in its budget and understandably so. One of the proposals to save over $5 million statewide is to eliminate the 90 percent reimbursement rate and keep only the 50 percent rate.
And while the proposed cut would indeed save money in the state budget, it does nothing to change the fact that municipalities cannot manage, filter, or cap the program at a local level and, again, the state mandates the program must exist.
If we look at just 2011 numbers, that would mean that taxpayers of Bangor would have to pay an additional $1.1 million for the program.
What Bangor taxpayers also need to know is that 2013 marks the initiation of the five-year cap for certain state assistance programs, such as TANF. While the policy and final language are still being crafted, there are 276 families in Bangor alone who may no longer qualify to receive state TANF funds to pay for their housing and basic needs. Should that happen, those families will be eligible and likely to participate in the municipal general assistance program. Should that happen, the taxpayers of Bangor will need an additional $750,000 to compensate for that enrollment increase.
The net effect of these two actions means Bangor taxpayers will need to fund nearly $2 million out of property taxes. That’s nearly a full dollar increase to the municipal mil rate.
Bangor’s ability to simply maintain its own essential services, maintain its aging infrastructure and invest in new economic development opportunities are threatened by the financial stresses of the general assistance program already. A $2 million increase to the program would simply devastate these goals.
Value for the property tax dollar, using budgets wisely and local control are all issues that I firmly believe in. In my opinion, this single topic violates all three.
There are common sense solutions and ways to fix, filter and better control this program. But the proposal to cut the reimbursement percentage simply puts more financial stress onto the backs of taxpayers in Bangor and does nothing to address the core issues.
The answer to this problem is not to put the financial stress onto the taxpayers of Bangor. We can do better than that.
If you feel like I do that this is an issue that needs to be addressed in a common sense manner, that local control is essential and that taxpayer value is important, then your help in reaching out today to legislators in your area is critical.
There is a working group of municipal leaders who see a better way and are ready to roll up our sleeves and be a part of the solution. We simply need the chance to participate in the decision making process.
Cary Weston serves as mayor of Bangor and is a founding member of the Mayor’s Coalition for Jobs & Economic Development.
Oh, the daily “cuts need to be made, but not to my program” op-ed piece!
“There is a working group of municipal leaders who see a better way and are ready to roll up our sleeves and be a part of the solution. We simply need the chance to participate in the decision making process.”
Best of luck in your efforts.
A previous post I wrote is being “reviewed” so probably won’t see the light of day.
Cutting income taxes has been the highest priority of the Maine GOP for at least ten years.
Two years ago they finally took over the State House.
Anyone who voted Republican should not be surprised by this cut in revenue sharing. It is a direct result from income tax cuts promised and carried out by newly elected Republicans.
Now, as His Honor the Mayor points out above, he’s going to have to increase property taxes to make up the difference or cut schools, public works, police, etc.
Make no mistake. This was the Republican plan.
Consider this also. Maine south and west of Augusta has higher incomes than we in the rest of Maine have. With their higher incomes they pay a higher portion of income taxes than we do. So, they will get a much bigger income tax cut than we will. As southern Maine money that used to come to Bangor is cut, Bangor taxpayers will have to increase property taxes to make up the difference.
But hey. Whatever.
Just keep electing Republicans so they can reduce southern Maine’s taxes and increase ours.
It’s only money.
This is a direct result of the growth of the dependency class at the expense of the productive class, as codified by the state.
The tick is bigger than the dog now. As property taxes increase and property maintenance is deferred to pay ever-increasing taxes, expect to see more deteriorating property abandoned by now-impoverished owners. Look at any failed inner city to see what happens when the producers act rationally and flee.
Would someone please tell me why taxpayers are required to foot the bill for people who either cannot, or most likely, will not pay for themselves? Perhaps the law that demands the city use city tax dollars needs to be changed. Perhaps a residency requirement needs to be allowed. I, for one, am tired of paying for every person who decides that the government should pay for them instead of paying their own way. And before the usual suspects start to hollar about being cold and heartless, I have been on the other end of the phone when GA called looking for funds for someone and after several hours of exploration, found out the person requesting assistance had several hundred dollars in their pocket they did not want to spend on their housing as GA would do it for them.
I know of a case where someone applied for GA to pay for the exercise tax and registration for the SUV they had just bought.
Give us all a break and keep it real. This type of BS story is fabrication. Sure, somebody might have the balls to ask for it but general assistance is not doled out casually. There is a lot more demand than supply. In order to qualify, there are asset and income tests. IF such a clear and obvious attempt a fraud were apparent to you, did you report that? It is against the law to misrepresent your situation to collect these funds.
It is nearly impossible to imagine “GovernmentIStheproblem” turning a blind eye to social services fraud.
Lying anti-social “conservatives” are the problem.
They asked for it. They filled out all the paperwork to get it. The office had to spend all the time processing it all just as they would for any other request. In fact, this request was the first of it’s type handled by this office and I know they consulted an attorney for legal advice. I do know it was considered ridiculous and they wanted to deny it but I never followed up and do not know if it was denied.
What is an exercise tax?
It’s called typing too fast. excise And I swear sometimes the automatic spell check auto fills words because sometimes the word spelled has letters no where near the ones I would swear I typed.
I respect Cary for his public service to the city. But the mayor, he is not.
I love GA. It gives financial assistance to people who claim they can’t pay for necessities, all the while many of them have lucrative side businesses selling drugs.
If the state stops the funds, then they should do away with the mandate to force taxpayers from paying the extra cost. We are taxed enough in Bangor now.
I do find it interesting how everyone wants “local control”, but also want the money to come from someone else. It would seem to me that local money & local control lead to better accountability & responsiveness. Of course, for that to work, less money should be sent to Augusta & Washington. When you send a dollar to either, a good percentage gets lost in admin costs & when the remainder does come back, it has strings attached.
We keep wanting someone else to pay, then complain when they want “input”. Keep the money & responsibility local. It sounds great when the state or Feds wil be paying, but in the end, who pays?
I couldn’t agree more…
Well sadly we wouldn’t have to raise the taxes if the money to build an auditorium wasn’t shelled out. That thing, with it’s smaller seating capacity, was such an absolute waste of taxpayer money and our elected officials should be ashamed for approving it as it was planned. The idea was to bring in new revenue to the area which would make more money for the community and help avoid tax increases. Instead it’s just something new…..
So sorry if I am not going to sit there and think we will NEED to raise taxes when there should have been no need.
As for all the whiners that will now come in saying “People won’t work,” how about this. Put YOUR money where your mouth is and provide more jobs. Open a business. Hire people that can’t find gainful employment. Trust me, while the system does get abused (I will never say it isn’t) you are basically saying “Well why should I help someone?” My question for you is…. why wouldn’t you?
Remember, all hell could break lose in this economy and likely will. Chances are at some point someone you know will rely on some form of help. Keep that in mind before you get too judgmental. You never know if the place you work will down size, relocate, out-source or simply go out of business. You could find yourself suddenly in a situation you need help. What if it was you? See that’s what people never think. I for one would LOVE to see Bangor STOP turning into a retirement community and start prospering again. Until then, unemployment will rise. And what everyone doesn’t get is it is a LOT higher than you think because of those people NOT being counted because they can’t file anymore. And that’s why general assistance costs went up.
But if these truths scare you, put your blinders back on. That’s what the well off prefer to do anyway….
Wow, where to start with this Justin,
First off, I do hire people regularly, and when I post an open position, I get very few applicants. I have stopped being surprised. At first, with an unemployment rate at over 9% I was surprised that no one wanted to work a job with a $10/hour wage plus benefits, but the truth was staring me directly in the face, no qualified applicants, and those who had applied did not bother to show up for an interview.
Second, I plan ahead in case of job loss. I stockpile food and goods so in case of loss of income, I can still provide for my family. I cut coupons, and stack them on top of sales. I minimize my spending on unnecessary items and only purchase what my family needs, saving money for unexpected crises.
Third, I have spent my whole life working to help others, I am a licensed social worker who has spent days on end assisting others, what have you done? Since I have done this work, I have also seen the fraud and misuse by people looking for a free handout; not help getting on their feet again. I used to go down to the Bangor homeless shelter weekly to help, after 10 years I realized that I was seeing the same faces there day in and day out. I watched those same faces refuse help to secure housing, and refuse to use their own income to pay for food and clothing. I watched a gentleman order two desktop computers from Dell and have the delivered to him at the shelter beacuse he had the money and he wanted to. He felt that he could just stay at the shelter, eat the free food and then he could spend his Social Security check on whatever he wanted.
Get off your high horse Justin and get a clue instead of berating the actual tax payers who pay for these programs and accuse them of “making you sick”.