LIMESTONE, Maine — Limestone’s Select Board will vote on the town’s 2023 mill rate during a special meeting on Wednesday, Oct. 11.
The board learned in September that tax assessor Brandon Saucier would need to assess over 50 properties at the former Loring Air Force Base before officials could choose a mill rate. All 58 buildings that Saucier has assessed now belong to Green 4 Maine, making them taxable for the town.
Previously, the entire 3,800-acre Loring Commerce Center was owned by Loring Development Authority, a “public municipal cooperation,” according to state law, which did not allow Limestone to assess those properties for taxes.
Saucier told the board Wednesday that he completed the assessments at Loring but will be speaking with Green 4 Maine officials Monday to discuss his proposed property values and make adjustments if necessary. Green 4 Maine is a Portland-based development company.
The Select Board agreed to pay Saucier $15,000 for his services this year. Though they initially agreed to pay $6,000, Saucier spent more hours at Loring than anticipated.
“The $6,000 was based on 26 buildings [that Green 4 Maine owns], but there are actually 58,” Saucier said. “This [tax revenue] will be good for the town.”
Last year’s mill rate was 28 mills, a decrease from 30.39 mills in 2021. This year’s rate will also factor in an estimated $33 million in tax revenue from eight solar projects being developed in town. Without that revenue being clear during budget season, the town was initially projecting a mill rate increase.
That does not mean the town will receive $33 million, said Board Vice Chair Chris Durepo. Solar projects still in development qualify for Maine’s Business Equipment Tax Exemption program. Completed projects qualify for the state’s Renewable Energy Investment Exemption.
Once they set the mill rate, the Select Board will also approve a date for mailing out tax bills to residents. The board voted to include a note with residents’ tax bills regarding the town’s collection of delinquent taxes this year.
Normally, the town would send 30-day notices to residents with unpaid taxes no earlier than eight months nor more than 12 months after the last tax commitment date. The town committed last year’s taxes on September 9. The town cannot collect back taxes through 30-day notices because they did not send those notices prior to September 9, 2023, said Interim Town Manager Alan Mulherin.
But a “906 order,” per Title 36 MRSA, Subsection 906, will allow the town to apply a resident’s 2023 tax bill to any previously unpaid accounts, Mulherin said.
In related news, Mulherin learned recently that the town owes delinquent taxes of $4,729.64 for the period ending December 2021 to the Internal Revenue Service. The IRS plans to reveal to the town in writing what those charges cover, Mulherin said.
“The initial indication is that the town underpaid quarterly taxes for 2021 in the amount of $4,692.34, plus $13.85 for a filing penalty and $23.45 of interest,” Mulherin said.
In other business, the Select Board approved appraisals for properties located on and near High Street.
Bucklin Appraisals, LLC, based in Appleton, Maine, and Quimby Appraisals and Right of Way, LLC, based in Brooks, Maine, appraised properties to get their full proposed market value before Maine Department of Transportation repairs High Street’s sidewalk. The appraisals will affect 22 residents.
The cost and timeframe for the DOT’s sidewalk project has yet to be determined, Mulherin said.
The Select Board approved closing the town office every Thursday from 1 to 4 p.m. so that town clerks Kelly Johndro and Lisa Kelly can receive training from Ella Leighton, who is Fort Fairfield’s tax collector.
Leighton’s weekly trainings have been productive, Johndro said, but keeping the town office open has caused interruptions, as she and Kelly provide services to residents. The board approved the office closure to last no later than November 30.
Select Board Chairperson Randy Brooker reported that Trafton Lake Campground is now closed for the season, meaning that the state’s 30-day notice based on Trafton’s failed health and safety inspection no longer applies for now. The town has yet to decide whether to sell or lease Trafton to a prospective developer amidst declining revenues.
The board appointed residents Andy Caldwell, Steve Thibodeau, Paul Poitras and Jim Leighton to the municipal maintenance building committee. That committee will also include Highway Foreman Spencer Keiser, Mulherin and Durepo.
The board also appointed Thibodeau and Chuck Kelley to the budget advisory committee and Tim and Wendy Alliman to the recreation committee.
A special Select Board meeting to choose the town’s mill rate will be held Wednesday, Oct. 11 at 6:30 p.m. in the town office at 93 Main St.
