DIXFIELD — Residents were told Monday night that creating a Tax Increment Financing agreement for the proposed multimillion-dollar wind energy project on Colonel Holman Mountain could benefit the town.
Laura Santini-Smith, director of the Tax Incentives Program with the Maine Department of Economic and Community Development, and Mike Rogers from Maine Revenue Services, presented a slide show for the small group at the Ludden Library.
Dixfield selectmen are looking at creating a TIF program for the project proposed by Patriot Renewables LLC of Quincy, Mass. The $40 million to $66 million cost for up to 20 turbines could drastically increase the valuation of the town.
Residents learned that as the town’s total value increases, a decrease in revenue sharing and education subsidies will occur and they will see an increase in county taxes.
Santini-Smith said a TIF can help shelter some of those taxes.
Selectmen also inquired about a credit enhancement agreement, which can be part of a TIF program. Santini-Smith said a CEA is a legal binding agreement between a municipality and the project or business.
She said the best way to describe it is it’s a prenuptial agreement.
Most TIF programs Santini-Smith has seen include a CEA in the approved application, she said.
Residents also learned there is no state agency that monitors TIF programs.
Dan MacKay took issue with the lack of transparency in the program but learned that monitoring can be stipulated in the TIF agreement.
“These TIF programs really do vary from municipality to municipality and can be flexible, depending on what each town wants,” Santini-Smith said.
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