JAY — A legislative public hearing will be held Tuesday at the State House on a bill that would provide $600,000 to the town to offset a property tax losses.
It begins at 1 p.m. in Room 127.
Town leaders used $2.25 million in undesignated funds in 2021 to keep the property tax rate from rising by $8.80 per $1,000 of assessed value, following a digester explosion at the Androscoggin Mill in 2020. It resulted in $600,000 reduction in state revenue-sharing this year.
The tax rate set for the year still rose $3 per $1,000 of assessed value to make it $20.50, instead of the $8.80 to make it $26.30 per $1,000 of valuation it could have been.
The town had applied for the state program Adjustment for Sudden and Severe Disruption in Valuation in 2021. Jay lost $200 million in valuation 2021.
LD 1954 submitted by state Rep. Sheila Lyman, R-Livermore Falls, will also have a work session at 1 p.m. Thursday in Room 127 at the State House in Augusta.
A bill sponsored by Sen. Lisa Keim, R-Dixfield, to create a long-term fix to sudden and severe law was allowed in by the legislative council on Friday and will be printed.
Jay is facing challenges in regard to its tax base because of the mill closing in March.
“Last year, we were projected to receive $1.4 million in revenue-sharing,” Jay Town Manager Shiloh LaFreniere previously said. “This year it is projected at $1.1 million. Had we not utilized the funds from our undesignated fund balance in the 2021-22 tax commitment, our projected revenue-sharing would be $1.7 million.”
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