LIVERMORE FALLS — Selectmen will continue discussion on a proposed tax-increment financing district to improve economic development at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 7, at the Town Office.
The board is looking at the possibility of establishing a TIF district to capture some of the new value of Central Maine Power Co.’s $17 million substation upgrade on Moose Hill Road.
The type of TIF the town is considering will not benefit CMP.
There are three tiers of programs under Maine’s tax-increment financing law, according to the town’s consultant, John Cleveland, president of Community Dynamics Corp. in Auburn.
Tax-increment financing is an economic development tool used by municipalities to capture new real and personal property value, shelter the new tax revenue from the state’s calculation of general purpose aid for education and revenue sharing and the county tax, and use the revenues locally to support the development of programs and infrastructure to assist and grow commercial enterprise, according to Cleveland.
Tier 1 projects can include capital costs, including but not limited to acquisition or construction of land, improvements, public ways, buildings, structures, fixtures and equipment within the boundaries of the TIF.
It also could include eligible transit-oriented development district capital costs; recreational trail improvements; capital costs for public ways; and demolition, alteration, remodeling, repair or reconstruction of existing buildings and structures.
Tier 2 projects can include costs reasonably related to the construction, alteration or expansion of any facilities not located within the district that are required due to improvements or activities. That could pertain to sewage treatment and water treatment plants among others.
Also in the second tier are costs of public safety improvements made necessary by the establishment of the district and costs of funding to mitigate any adverse effect of the district upon the municipality if public facilities improvements are located in a downtown-designated TIF district and the entire increment of the downtown-designated TIF is committed to the development program of the municipal TIF.
Tier 3 projects can include costs of funding economic development programs or events developed by a municipality or funding the marketing of the municipality as a business or arts location. It also could include costs of funding environmental improvement projects developed by town for commercial or arts districts; and funding to establish permanent economic development revolving loan funds, investment funds or grants.
Some areas have been identified as having potential for future development and/or may require infrastructure investment in the near term.
They are the Otis Mill property; downtown corridor from the Jay town line to Depot/Park streets intersection, including properties along Park Street/Route 133 south to the Bowen Brothers building; wastewater treatment facility; PalletOne/Isaacson Lumber yard facility, properties near the biomass plant; and new CMP substation footprint to capture new tax assessed value only.
The total acreage of the proposed TIF district may not exceed 2 percent of the town’s total acreage and the total valuation may not exceed 5 percent of the town’s total valuation, according to Cleveland’s information.
dperry@sunjournal.com
Send questions/comments to the editors.
