ROCKLAND, Maine — Tax bills are on their way to property owners after a new rate was set last week, up 5 percent to compensate for less state aid to the local school system.
The tax rate was set at $21.20, up 5 percent from $20.16, said Assessor Dennis Reed. A person owning a home worth $150,000 will pay $3,180, an increase of $156.
That increase is due almost exclusively to a larger financial commitment to Regional School Unit 13. RSU 13’s budget was approved at the polls Tuesday night. The budget requires more property taxes to offset a loss of state aid which is the result of a drop in enrollment and the loss of St. George which withdrew from the district as of July 1.
Fifty three cents of every dollar in property taxes collected by Rockland will go to RSU 13. About 43 cents goes to the city government and the remaining four cents goes to Knox County.
The due date for the first half of the tax bill to be paid is Sept. 25 and the second half is due on March 4.
FMC Corporation, which operates a carrageenan manufacturing plant on the waterfront, remains the city’s top taxpayer. The company will pay about $478,000 in property taxes on its properties valued at $21.7 million. This is about a $50,000 increase. Some of that increase, however, is due to improvements at the plant that increased its assessment.
Douglas Dynamics, which operates a snowplow manufacturing plant next to the Industrial Park, is the second largest taxpayer with an assessment of about $13.4 million and a tax bill of about $281,000.
Central Maine Power is the third largest taxpayer with properties assessed at about $12.4 million and a bill of about $263,000.
Other top taxpayers in Rockland include the O’Hara Corporation; Liberty Hospitality which owns both the Trade Winds Motor Inn and the Navigator Motor Inn, Harbor Plaza Shopping Center, Maine Water Company, and Rockland Plaza Shopping Center.