Residents of Frenchboro received an unwelcome surprise this tax season when they discovered that their property tax bills had increased dramatically. A series of new expenses passed at the 2011 town meeting, plus some unexpected revenue decreases, resulted in the mill rate soaring from $11.90 per $1,000 in assessed value to $26.85.
The factors behind the rise included $30,000 set aside to help to replace the aging town dock, $23,000 to help equip and train the fire department, and a rise in school tuition due to two high school students having to attend school off-island. The resulting budget was nearly $352,000, considerably more than the $282,000 expended in 2010-2011.
The higher taxes caused by these increased expenditures proved to be a shock for some. “A lot of the residents of Frenchboro aren’t number people,” explains Gerd Hasal. “They show up to town meeting, and they trust that the numbers are good.” Even Hasel, who served three terms on Frenchboro’s selectboard in the 1990s, and did some back-of-the-envelope math on his own property taxes, was surprised. “I thought my bill would go up 60 percent. That’s what I thought when I left town meeting.” Instead, it rose 126 percent, over $2,000.
First selectman Rob Stuart defends the increases as necessary. “This is the reality of being a sustainable, small community in today’s expensive world,” says Rob Stuart. “I don’t think that if they voted again tomorrow, they would change their votes.”
In addition to the shock of high costs, lack of revenue also contributed to the issue, due in part to preserved lands and state funding changes. About 42 percent of Frenchboro land is held by Maine Coast Heritage Trust (MCHT) and is tax-exempt, including three smaller islands. While MCHT does make payments in lieu of taxes, $14,000 for this tax year, and attempts to soften the blow through trail maintenance, donating land for town use and affordable housing, and assisting with an engineering study for the wharf project, some residents are still concerned that the loss of taxable land is hurting the town. Selectboard member Rob Stuart estimates the annual revenue loss at $20,000 to $25,000.
Jane Arbuckle, MCHT’s director of stewardship, points out that although there likely is an impact, the organization acts in good faith. “For the major part of the reserve, we have been paying the same tax rate that was assessed in 2000. It is below what the current rate would be, certainly, but we have kept that commitment.”
The spotlight shone on property taxes and assessments has raised another concern: the process accompanying town valuation. As in many small towns, members of the selectboard are also the assessors for the town. Many Frenchboro property owners, such as Hasal, are perplexed by recent changes in valuation. Hasal compiled a list of properties that have seen both increases (11 properties) and decreases (39 properties) in value, and has not been able to find a pattern for the changes. Unlike most of the coast, Frenchboro does not have higher valuations for waterfront property; a policy intended to support fishermen’s ability to own homes near the shore. However, as school board chair Marissa Rosinski explains, it has also led to unfair valuations. “My home is in the affordable housing development and sits back in the woods with no water view. There is another house on the island that is on a peninsula and has water views on three sides. We are paying the same in property taxes.”
While many agree that one step towards solving the problem is a professional reassessment, the prospect is unlikely. The cost of doing so would be tens of thousands of dollars, all which would need to be added to the town budget.
Stuart is confident that the worst is behind them, “All of those items were necessary things, but they are done. The fact is, people are paying their taxes.” He adds, “Changes of any kind have a volatility in a small community that you don’t get in a larger community. Compared to many small communities, this is not an outrageous tax bill.”
Hasal disagrees, “Some people simply can’t afford it. I’m afraid we may have broken the back of Frenchboro.”