York Town News
Selectmen continue to explore TIF district proposal for York Beach
By Larry Favinger
YORK - The Board of Selectmen took no formal action on the creation of a tax incremental financing (TIF) district in York Beach following a public hearing on the proposal Monday night.Town Manager Robert Yandow said a TIF district is about gaining funds for capital projects while "not relying on the general tax base."
As proposed, the TIF would cover 101.35 acres in York Beach, which includes 9.6 acres of the York's Wild Kingdom parcel and most of the buildings therein.
Yandow said there would be "no lost revenue to the general fund" by establishing the program and the town would take a "pay-as-you-go" stance.
"We won't spend the money until we have the money in hand," he said.
Projects on the horizon for the area include better sidewalks, curbing, drainage work, street lights and possibly moving utility poles to the back of the buildings.
Yandow said some advantages of the program are to reduce slightly the county tax, as the TIF is excluded from the valuation used to compute that annual assessment, and a slight increase in Maine revenue-sharing aid.
Dawn Fernald, a member of the York Beach Renaissance Committee, said the committee is "100 percent in favor of this moving forward. This is a win-win situation."
She said the infrastructure of the beach would be improved without burdening the rest of the town.
By so doing, the program would "help existing businesses survive and encourage" others to locate there, she said.
Local resident Peter O'Connor asked about the impact of TIF improvements to commercial properties on the value of neighboring residential homes. He said those valuations will rise with the success of the TIF, and that will increase the taxes for those living there.
He suggested the TIF district be made smaller and the people in single-family homes be given the opportunity to opt out.
Yandow said the current TIF proposal covers 36 commercial properties with a 2006 valuation of $32,620,600. Single-family homes are excluded from the TIF, meaning all the increased revenue from improvements to them would remain in the general fund.
TIF revenue is calculated as a percentage of the increase value, and thus taxes generated, on improved commercial properties over and above the normal tax rate.
Selectman Torbert Macdonald, Jr., said is interested in protecting and preserving residential properties in the beach area.
"I don't want it to be a block-busting tool," he said of the TIF.
The board took no action, instructing Yandow to put together some proposals in light of the feelings expressed at the pubic hearing for review at a future meeting.
