Politics
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Bigger property tax bills have caused frustration for residents of towns across Maine. A Bangor lawmaker now wants to tackle the issue by putting a cap on tax increases for older Mainers.
Sen. Joe Baldacci, D-Bangor, submitted a proposed constitutional amendment ahead of next year’s legislative session that would place a 2 percent annual cap on property tax assessment increases for residents 65 years and older. The cap would only apply to primary residences.
The proposal regarding one of Maine’s most pressing issues — the cost of housing — comes amid property values rapidly increasing while cities and towns have caught up on long-deferred revaluations but also struggled to contain their municipal and school budgets. The tax increases have hurt older Mainers on fixed incomes and been passed on to renters.
Baldacci, whose city is in the process of revaluing roughly 11,000 properties for the first time in 37 years, conceded that his proposal may need more time to gain enough support. He also wants to pair the cap with increases to revenue sharing and the state’s homestead exemption, which currently offers a reduction of up to $25,000 for tax purposes.
“We’ve got to figure out a way to help [older Mainers] that’s very direct,” Baldacci said. “I’d like to do this in a bipartisan way.”
Democrats, who have controlled the State House and governor’s office since 2018, saw their majorities in each chamber narrow following the Nov. 5 election, which will give Republicans more leverage in negotiations and votes on key proposals.
Rep. Jack Ducharme, R-Madison, the lead Republican on the Legislature’s budget committee, said Baldacci’s ideas are “a good starting point” for figuring out how to lessen the burden on Mainers.
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But Ducharme brought up concerns with controlling state spending, a topic that will likely play a role in determining how much traction Baldacci’s ideas get after Democrats approved the past few state budgets without any Republican support.
“We can look to control those property taxes all we want,” Ducharme said, “but if the money we want to come from the state isn’t there or we have other priorities, it’s a swing and a miss.”
The state’s Revenue Forecasting Committee also shared updated projections Monday that include a roughly $187 million spending gap for the fiscal year beginning in June. That is about $450 million less than the committee’s last prediction in September, but Democratic Gov. Janet Mills cited it when saying she plans to propose a “lean budget” next year.
The exponentially rising price tag of a popular program from Senate Minority Leader Trey Stewart, R-Presque Isle, that allowed older Mainers to freeze their property taxes at the prior year’s level resulted in its repeal last year. Municipalities had also criticized its design.
Lawmakers replaced the freeze program by boosting a property tax credit from $1,500 to $2,000 and expanding the income and asset limits on a loan program in which the state covers property taxes for older or permanently disabled Mainers in need of help.
More debates will come once lawmakers return to Augusta. The Maine Municipal Association is “pleased to hear that property tax relief is on the minds of our elected state officials,” spokesperson Kate Dufour said. Any proposals must be “well researched and more equitably shift the burden of funding local government services” among taxpayers, Dufour added.
“We agree with [Baldacci’s] observation that more workshopping is necessary and look forward to participating in those conversations,” Dufour said.
