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April 17, 2001 Eben DeWitt, Chairman Dear Mr. DeWitt; Thank you for the opportunity to address you today regarding the impact of the 2001 Piscataquis County Tax Assessment on the Town of Greenville. The Chairman of the Greenville Board of Selectmen – Eugene F. Murray, Sr. – and I appreciate this opportunity to discuss this impact and also certain cost-sharing measures for services offered by Greenville which benefit the region. As you know, the amount of tax paid by the Town of Greenville has steadily risen, on average, for each of the past six years, and longer. Only once in the past 6 years has the tax assessment by the County dropped for Greenville (1998-99), and then only by $1,094, or less than 1%. The five-year average increase before this year's jump was $5,441.20, or an average percentage increase of 3.85%. However, this year the Town of Greenville's net increase in tax from last year was $33,304, or a jump of 20.68% in a single year. Adding this amount into the average results in a 6-year net annual average increase of $10,085, and raising the average percentage increase to 6.65%. In both calculations, this year's massive increase nearly doubles the average annual increase to Greenville. Statistically, it shows that this single year increase must be extremely significant to have such a dramatic impact. We understand that there are two mechanisms which drove up this year's tax assessment for Greenville, neither of which the Town has any immediate control over. The first is the increase in the State Valuation for the Town of Greenville; the second is the increase in the County budget, which increased the County's mill rate. In regard to our high state valuation, we believe this is due to the high price of property along Moosehead Lake. There has been a mini real estate “boom” around Moosehead for the past several years, and the State has recognized this and adjusted our state valuation accordingly. There is a growing distance between the Town of Greenville's assessed value and the state valuation, which is based on actual sales. Jim Robinson from Maine Revenue Services – the man who calculates the state valuation for Greenville – tells us that our in-town residential assessed value to actual sales ratio is about 104%, whereas our ratio for residential shorefront property is about 72%. This results in a community-wide average of about 88%. Clearly, the valuation is being driven up by the high prices being paid for property along the lake. The Board of Selectmen are now considering conducting a revaluation of all Town properties in order to bring this average closer to 100%. Although a revaluation seems like the answer, it will not be an easy or inexpensive route to take to solve the problem. Rough estimates on the total cost to higher a firm to conduct a revaluation range between $60,000 and $120,000. The time it will take to complete and implement a revaluation will be at least a year. Therefore, even if the Board were to act immediately on this matter, their action would result in an immediately higher mill rate and would also still allow us at least one more year with an excessively high state valuation. In short, there is no easy way out of this situation. In regard to the mill rate increase by the County, we obviously have no more control over your actions than do any other community in Piscataquis County. Although we cannot change the budget, we can ask for your consideration in helping to fund some projects in Greenville which benefit the other municipalities – both organized and unorganized – in Piscataquis County. Such increases to the County budget will not be directly borne by the Town of Greenville, and therefore would help us. I have detailed these suggested cost-saving projects below, along with some which the County already participates in which we strongly urge you to continue to participate in. Piscataquis County Economic Development Council: This Council has helped the County in numerous ways since its inception, and its promises continue to be made and fulfilled for economic growth in the region. The Town of Greenville has benefited greatly from the work of this Council, and we strongly urge you to continue to fund this organization. If it did not exist, the Town of Greenville would be forced to either resign itself to having no professional assistance in the area of Economic Development, or it would have to hire someone directly for the Town. The current arrangement is much, much preferred to these two alternatives. Please continue to fund strongly the Piscataquis County Economic Development Council. Salt-Sand Pad: The Town of Greenville and Piscataquis County have agreed to a cost-sharing arrangement for the construction of our new salt-sand storage pad. Although we have not yet completed the pad, we expect the total cost to be around $25,000, of which the County has dedicated 30%, or roughly $8,250. The Town appreciates your cooperation in this regard: the pad and our new Public Works Garage / Recycling Center should both be complete by the end of this summer. Greenville Municipal Airport: As you know, the Town of Greenville has recently completed its Airport Master Plan Update (AMPU). After reviewing all of the infrastructure and typical maintenance and use of the airport, we have concluded that in order for the airport to survive in the least, prosper at best, we need to fund more regular maintenance, and we also need to build a reserve to pay for our share of major capital improvements. In particular, we are currently in the MDOT and FAA pipeline for funds to remove obstructions (trees, etc.) at the airport in the 2002-2003 MDOT Biennial Transportation Improvement Plan (BTIP), and also for the total reconstruction of the main runway within the 2004-2005 MDOT BTIP. The FAA will pay for 90% of the cost for these improvements, and the State and the Town each must come up with 5% match. For these two projects alone, our Town match would exceed $100,000, by our engineer's estimates. This does not add in the 5% match for new snow removal equipment and a storage building at the airport (both of which we desperately need) and the placement of ASOS meteorological equipment at the airport. Clearly, the Town of Greenville cannot accomplish these things alone. If we do not have additional streams of revenue to pay for these large projects, we will not be able to do them, and the airport will continue to deteriorate to the point of closure. On the brighter side, many state officials have indicated the close connection between a strong and vibrant airport and economic development. Considering our geographic location, a better airport facility should increase and sustain tourism to Greenville. It may even encourage business expansion for high-tech and/or corporate businesses wishing to come and go from Greenville via the airport. We could improve and diversify the economy of the Moosehead Lake region significantly with a stronger airport. To this end, we propose that Piscataquis County and also Somerset County join with the Town of Greenville to change the Greenville Municipal Airport into the Moosehead Regional Airport. Such a change would require a charter to be drafted, and representation to the overseeing board of the new regional airport be made up of officials from the Town of Greenville and from both counties. We would like to work toward this end this year, and we also request a financial commitment from each of the Counties. In particular, we wish both Piscataquis County and Somerset County to contribute $10,000 annually to our airport project reserve account, beginning in 2002. These funds would be used for the 5% match necessary for large projects, or any other capital projects deemed appropriate by the overseeing board. In-kind donations would also be appreciated, such as your suggestion of assuming the annual cost of the mowing of the fields surround the runways. This may seem like a great deal of money, but it the County does not help with this, it will have to either come from Greenville solely, or not at all. Considering Greenville's current tax base and escalating costs, “not at all” seems the most likely answer. Emergency Radio Dispatch Equipment: The Town of Greenville, like all other Towns in the County, are completing our E-911 addressing program. Our Fire Department and Ambulance Service officials, as well as our Town Manager, have been working closely with Whitten's 2-Way service, the County Sheriff, and his lead Dispatcher to devise a means to participate in the Piscataquis County Sheriff's Department's PSAP for emergency radio dispatching. To do so will require additional radio equipment to be placed at our airport. The total cost for this project, which is still being developed, is $10,000. This does not include the cost for adjusting the frequencies of many of our fire department radios, or the cost for the annual license, both of which we have assumed for costs. Although this cost is clearly for the benefit of Greenville, it will also be beneficial to the PSO and surrounding communities as we draw fire department and EMS resources from other parts of the County. Neither Dover-Foxcroft nor the Town of Milo pay any local share of the capital costs or upkeep of the radio towns in their communities. We question why we should have to pay for the total cost when other communities have not. We hope we can arrive at an agreeable cost-sharing arrangement for this cost. These are our concerns. As we face an eroding tax base in various areas, we hope we can arrive at an agreeable solution for cost sharing for all of these items. Sincerely, John Simko CC Board of Selectmen |