LIVERMORE FALLS — Residents voted Thursday to approve a development municipal tax-increment financing district and authorized selectmen to submit a TIF application to the state.
Voters also agreed to eliminate an existing TIF connected to the former Otis Mill that closed in 2009.
More than 30 voters turned out for the special town meeting at the Town Office.
The TIF district includes the downtown area, the Otis Falls Mill property in Livermore Falls, and property along Park Street and property on Diamond Road near the biomass plant.
The TIF will allow the town to shelter 90 percent of the new value of Central Maine Power Co.’s $14 million upgrade and capture an estimated $8.59 million in new taxes over 30 years. It is expected there will be an additional $2 million value over the term of the TIF, according to consultant John Cleveland, president of Community Dynamics Corp. in Auburn.
The remaining 10 percent of value is estimated to generate a total of $954,720 in new revenue with a net amount of $374,558 going into the general fund. The figures are based on what is known now and the current tax rate of $20.80 per $1,000 of real property value.
The TIF allows the board the flexibility to capture less than 90 percent of value but not more once the agreement is accepted.
CMP will not benefit from the municipal TIF district. The agreement does not pertain to any personal property value or taxes.
The town projects generating about $291,200 in new tax revenue once the full value of the completed substation is on the tax rolls, Cleveland previously said.
Using the current tax rate, the town will collect $262,080 in TIF revenues and $29,120 in general fund revenues by year two of the TIF.
The current value of the substation on Moose Hill Road will continue to go into the general fund. Only the new value will be captured. The new value does not include upgrades of transmission lines or poles, which will continue to go into the general fund.
CMP substation’s value before the project was $3.85 million. Residents also voted to allow the Board of Selectmen to negotiate credit enhancement agreements with up to 100 percent of the reimbursements to businesses as well as the length of the term of the agreement.
dperry@sunjournal.com
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