Buxton voters are being asked to increase the town’s property tax cap placed on the town by state law, even though the current budget is lower than the one last year.
Voters will decide in written referendum balloting if they want to increase the tax cap limit this year by $186,581, from $877,037 to $1.1 million, in a special town meeting at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 14, in town hall.
“It amazed us we had a problem with it,” said Selectman Bob Libby.
The people appropriated a $4.1 million town budget at town meeting in June. The amount is nearly $100,000 less than the budget for last year. But last year, the town used $600,000 from undesignated surplus to ease the tax burden on its residents. This year, they used only $400,000 from that account.
The reduced money from surplus raised the amount necessary to collect from Buxton taxpayers this year. It triggered the referendum to raise the state’s tax cap amount for Buxton.
Libby discovered the malady in September. He recalculated the tax cap for Buxton last fall after receiving the state’s allowable inflation figure coupled with analyzing the town’s up-to-date valuation report.
With questions about the tax cap, he contacted the Maine Municipal Association for an opinion. The person he spoke to there verified that Buxton had exceeded the state’s allowable tax cap.
Cliff Emery, chairman of Buxton’s board of selectmen, said taking less money from the undesignated surplus account created the situation. “It’s not fair,” Emery said of the present law.
Selectman Jean Harmon said this week’s referendum is necessary as a result of the cap imposed under LD 1, but Buxton didn’t expect it. “We were surprised because we budgeted less,” Harmon said about the need for a referendum.
Geoff Herman, director of state and federal relations for the Maine Municipal Association, said the basis for calculating the tax cap for Buxton was abnormal. Herman said Buxton is among an estimated 30 communities in Maine that were impacted. “They’re not alone,” Herman said about Buxton.
He said the basic tax commitment in Buxton was “unnaturally” low because they “dug deep into surplus.”
“They triggered a need for a special meeting,” Herman said. “It created an administrative hurdle.”
According to Herman, the state doesn’t police the law, but violating the law could cause a community to lose its tax collecting validation. He said most citizens would continue to pay their property taxes. But a community could face legal problems in cases involving tax liens on property if a municipality failed to comply with state law.
“They want their property tax commitment valid,” Herman said about municipalities.
Buxton selectmen believe the state should remove surplus money from the equation used in figuring a tax cap. “Someone’s got some work to do in Augusta,” Libby said.
Under Buxton’s town meeting form of government, voters approved the town’s budget in June. So Libby doesn’t see the justification to ask voters for another approval.
Rep. Don Marean, R-Hollis, who represents part of Buxton, agreed that people shouldn’t have to go back for a vote when they’ve already approved the budget. “It doesn’t make sense, and it costs money,” Marean said about the referendum.
Marean said he would inquire whether any legislator is proposing legislation to rectify the situation. Herman said the LD 1 system kicked in fast. “It’s real complicated,” he said.
The Buxton warrant item is not asking voters for more money. “We’re just asking to spend what’s already been raised,” said Selectman Carol Sanborn.
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