Friday, September 27, 2013

Secession arrives in Maine

How can one not think of Joshua Chamberlain when reading that?
File under ‘HOW REVOLTS BEGIN’
Bangor Daily News:
SCARBOROUGH, Maine — More than a month after appeals began on 44 property tax assessments from 2012 at Higgins Beach and Pine Point, continued arguments consumed five hours Monday night.
What remained elusive was a decision by the four-member Board of Assessment Review. The hearing was adjourned, and will continue at least two more times, at 7 p.m. Oct. 8 and 6 p.m. Oct. 15.
The Oct. 8 hearing will be limited to an appeal of Nancy Strong’s Shipwreck Road property in Higgins Beach. On Oct. 15, 43 assessments will be heard as one appeal, with Portland attorney John Shumadine presenting the appellants’ case. He will be joined by independent real estate appraiser George Koutalakis to present countering arguments.
While hearings continue, appellant Don Petrin of River Sands Drive has hinted the appeal effort will spread beyond Town Hall and the courts, to a secession movement in the waterfront neighborhoods hardest hit by the revaluations.
“I’m not leading that effort, however I will, like many, support that effort,” Petrin said. “Legal advice was solicited and received as to the steps involved, however I have not seen the required petition as yet.”
Petrin was also unimpressed with Monday’s proceedings.
“Unfortunately for the board, the town chose to essentially filibuster the hearing by strategically reiterating the same mundane points over and over again,” he said.
Oct. 15 will mark the fourth time the board will hear arguments, after the first hearing on Aug. 19 was adjourned because of faulty microphones in the Town Council chambers.
At issue are assessment increases of as much as 25 percent levied by former Tax Assessor Paul Lesperance, who now serves as a special deputy assessor after retiring in April.
A total of 94 appeals initially rejected by Lesperance last February have or will be heard by the board. Assessment appeals on Prout’s Neck properties scheduled for Oct. 15 will be rescheduled for November.
When the colonists finally got fed up, it was over a minor tax (2.5% if I remember) by reason of having a govt unresponsive to their just needs put in place for nominally good reason (to pay for the war which protected their lives from 1756-1763). As this economy has drained every treasury from bottom to top and back again this process plays out. If the town council acts responsibly towards its own people in terms of tax, you can bet it will bust THEIR budget (which in their minds is their responsibility..just as we hear Obama warning that the ‘tea party’ republicans don’t want to pay their bills).
They have all lost sight of where things begin.
And end.
No?

1 comment:

Pastorius said...

It seems like it.

The larger point is, at a certain point, we're working more for them than we're working for our families.

Actually I think we passed that point a few years back.