A proposal to create a permanent funding source for Maine’s emergency homeless shelters is earning mixed reviews.
The bill, introduced by Rep. Drew Gattine, D-Westbrook, would reduce the percentage of revenue that Maine’s counties receive from the real estate transfer tax, funneling about 1-2% of revenue to the state’s emergency shelter operating fund.
For years, shelter operators had been advocating for a permanent increase in Maine’s shelter bed reimbursement rate, which hasn’t been raised in nearly decade. The Legislature last year agreed to provide a one-time infusion of $4.5 million to help struggling shelters stay afloat.
“We’ve seen shelters close. We’ve shelters in crisis,” Erik Jorgensen with MaineHousing told state lawmakers this week. “The need for additional and predictable funding has been really exhaustively documented. And although last year there was a one-time bump in shelter funding thanks to you folks, that’s temporary. And I think these critical entities continue to be in desperate need of predictable support.”
Jorgensen said under the proposal, an estimated $1.1 million would be funneled from real estate transfer tax revenue to the state’s shelter operating fund. And since the state raised the real estate transfer tax on properties sold for more than $1 million, Maine officials said they didn’t believe that county governments would lose revenue.
County officials, however, were skeptical and told state lawmakers this week that they are largely opposed to the measure.
They believe the proposed changes would reduce revenue for county budgets that are already overburdened with rising jail costs.
Oxford County Commissioner Sawin Millett said he believes homeless shelters do need support, and he acknowledged that they can play a role in preventing people from going to county jails in the first place.
“Every nickel that we lose from the state share of our services that are mandated by the state, has to be picked up somewhere, and that’s the property taxpayer,” he said.
A work session for the bill has not been scheduled.
This story appears through a media partnership with Maine Public.
