The Portland assessor’s office has again denied Maine Public’s application for tax-exempt status as the organization prepares to move into its new headquarters downtown.
It was the nonprofit media organization’s fourth attempt at gaining tax-exempt status in the city since it announced plans to purchase and renovate the former Public Market building on Cumberland Avenue.
The latest denial, issued Aug. 5, comes amid heightened scrutiny of city assessing decisions after several high-profile nonprofits either lost tax-exempt status or had applications denied.
“We’re disappointed at the latest rejection,” CEO Rick Schneider said Friday. “The city has one interpretation that we disagree with, and we’ll look at our options.”
Schneider stressed that the city has been “a good partner” as Maine Public moves downtown but said “we have a different approach” to how exemptions should be determined.
While some nonprofit leaders and officials have questioned whether assessing staff has been working under a new interpretation of state law, city staff have repeatedly said the revocations are not the result of any policy changes, and that the city now has the ability, with increased staff, to conduct the reviews more thoroughly.
Municipal tax assessors in Maine are considered agents of the state and must follow state statutes for assessments, but they are also granted the authority to make decisions on exemptions locally.
The decision, written by assistant assessor Matthew Caton, was sent to Maine Public on Aug. 5 and is 159 pages with supporting documents.
According to the letter, Maine Public’s new headquarters in Portland is now assessed at $16.5 million, and its fiscal year 2026 tax bill was roughly $197,000. Due to an existing tax-increment financing deal on the building, which is considered three condominium units, Maine Public was reimbursed about $100,000.
Schneider said the city’s decision will not impact Maine Public’s plans to move in and open its new offices this fall and said the impact to its bottom line is not the “existential” issue it has been for smaller, arts-based nonprofits in the city.
“It’s an annoyance and an operating cost we think we should not have to bear, but we will plan accordingly while we continue to explore options,” he said.
The organization conducted a $31 million capital campaign for the new offices, with roughly $16 million going toward purchasing the building and the rest covering the buildout.
The Maine Irish Heritage Center on Gray Street was among the nonprofits that had its exemption revoked earlier this year. The organization was told it no longer meets the requirements for being considered a charitable or benevolent organization — one of the categories for obtaining an exemption — due to revenue the group receives from weddings and venue rentals.
Eric Brown, executive director of the center, said he is still waiting for the city’s response to its latest application.
Mayo Street Arts had its exemption revoked for similar reasons and did not reapply this year. Its executive director, Ian Bannon, said in June that the nonprofit didn’t feel it had the proper time to consider modifying its mission statement to fit what he called the city’s “novel interpretation” of state law or to terminate its month-to-month leases with studio artists.
“It seemed like a waste of precious time and money, which have both already been taxed due to this issue,” he said, adding that Mayo Street supporters raised enough to cover the roughly $14,000 tax bill, and the nonprofit is now planning for next April’s application deadline.
In its two most recent applications, Maine Public requested an exemption based on being a literary and scientific organization. The group receives an exemption for its studio in Bangor based on that category, which it also held in Lewiston until the recent sale of its building there.
But the Portland assessor’s office decision said Maine Public does not meet the burden of proof that it is a literary or scientific organization, and two previous denials found that it also did not qualify as a charitable organization.
The three previous denials came in March, June and December 2025.
Schneider said the decision also refers to the fact that the Portland building is still under construction and the organization is not yet carrying out its mission there.
This story was originally published by the Maine Trust for Local News. Andrew Rice can be reached at arice@sunjournal.com.