JAY – Selectpersons, acting in their role of town assessors, denied a tax abatement request filed on behalf of Verso mill Monday evening, following an executive session.
That action comes less than a week after a decision by the Board of Assessment Review to uphold the town’s abatement of $829,528 to the Verso Androscoggin LLC’s 2013 tax payments. The selectboard had voted in January to grant that abatement and reduce the value of the mill from $815 million down to $592 million. That abatement and 27 percent revaluation fell short of the company’s request for a $460 million revaluation, resulting in Verso appealing the decision to the Board of Assessment Review, which held two days of hearings on March 30 and April 1.
After the hearing, the town’s Board of Assessment Review unanimously voted to deny Verso’s appeal, issuing a written decision on April 8. In that ruling, the board cited the absence of the mill’s appraisers’ explanation on how they arrived at a reduced valuation difference from the town’s revaluation.
The board’s findings emphasized without the mill’s appraisers’ explanation, their “subjective judgements that could not be tested by questions from the board members or cross examination by the opposing party. Consequently, the board members were not comfortable choosing between the competing reports or their divergent value conclusions, and so the board members did not.”
Verso’s appraisal firm is also disputing the calculation of the $829,528 abated by the town in January. The mill argued that the tax rate amount was not calculated using the reduced valuation “by the then-applicable .14 mil rate” and instead a rate of .175 was used to calculate their total tax bill.
The Board of Assessment Review cited state statute “which provides that the amount of the abatement shall be in ‘such reasonable amount as the (assessors) think proper.'” In a split vote of 3-1-1, the majority of Board of Assessment Review members determined that, according to law, there wasn’t “a factual basis to resolve” that issue and “determined no further adjustment is appropriate.”
The mill’s representatives have, according to law, 60 days to appeal the board’s decision to the state’s Board of Property Tax Review.
Meanwhile, Verso has filed a second abatement for the 2014 tax year. The mill requested another reduction in valuation, down to below $400 million.
Following Monday’s executive session, the town’s assessors voted to deny the abatement request. All five assessors signed the letter, addressed to the Verso mill manager.
“As a result of our review, we have denied the tax abatement request because Verso Androscoggin, LLC failed to meet their burden of proof,” the letter reads, after noting that the application had cited a lower valuation for the mill that was “not supported by any data.”
The letter also indicates that the company has 60 days to appeal the decision to the Board of Assessment Review.
well maybe verso should shut the mill down and see how the town squirms then .
The current economic climate created by our dear leader OB’s Obamanomics, and his minions is an ongoing attack on the top 1% of income earners or what they call the rich class.
What the average person, (or blind followers or stupid voters as described by his administration’s contractors), don’t know is that most small businesses are either limited liability corporations or partnerships. All those entities report business income and losses on [owners’] personal tax returns. For example, if the owner made $500,000 in profits, that income goes directly his or her personal tax return even if their salary is $75,000. They will pay taxes on that plus the $500,000 income the business earned this year.
Why did I mention the owner tax liability first you ask? Well, my point is that, this mentality of over burdensome taxation is expanding as the government is expanding in the upside down thinking to suck revenue from the “rich”! At some point, these taxes kill the small business engine by making it so expensive to be a small business owner and forcing more and small business into bankruptcy and closures. How is that going to workout for the towns they support and help “financially” keep running?
The truly wealthy people pay nothing in taxes compared to the average small business owner. These daily attacks on the so-called rich are actually attacks on private business owners, many of whom don’t make that much money. A lot of their income goes back to investing in new equipment, retiring debt, payroll, growing the business and keeping the community employed as compared to the government keeping non-workers in dependency.
The economy is the best it has been in almost forever and a decision by a small-town board of selectmen is the President’s fault? Some growing up needs to be done around here.
Sorry Tom, did I insult you or go out of my way to insult your intelligence? You might have to re-read my comments, I backed my assertions, nor did I directly blame your Prez, just his failed economic plan and his enablers. Unlike you I didn’t just throw out party line rhetoric.
Here straight from Forbes;
“Does a president control the economy like a puppeteer? No, nor does a president have the power to spend; that’s a Congressional duty. Nevertheless, to argue that the economy is doing better under Obama than it did under Reagan is at best obtuse and at worst partisan hackery. (09/14/2014)
From the Politico;
“This recovery has been weaker because housing has been weaker because housing has been on the sidelines, said Holtz-Eakins.” And that’s unique to this downturn.”
And BTW, housing is one of the single most important economic indicators, not just the stock market that is infused by this administration. What we do know is that OB pulled a bait-and-switch on us with Wall Street. And who stands to most benefit from that OB maneuver?
Damn Tom…
What planet are you living on?
Look around much?
Yep..this economy is GREAT””’ if you are lounging around in PJ’s all day “collecting”…..
I am looking forward to the day when Comrade OB finally redistributes everything the honest folks have worked for to these slackers….
Then..VOILA!! they don’t “qualify” anymore ….. “”BUT I DO””!!!!
Think I’ll celebrate by using my EBT card to play a round of golf at the “country club with my friends”.
We win again… :)
I’m going to enjoy that day.
Toodaloo!!
“Economically, President Obama’s administration has outperformed President Reagan’s in all commonly watched categories. Simultaneously the current administration has reduced the deficit, which skyrocketed under Reagan. Additionally, Obama has reduced federal employment, which grew under Reagan (especially when including military personnel,) and truly delivered a “smaller government.” Additionally, the current administration has kept inflation low, even during extreme international upheaval, failure of foreign economies (Greece) and a dramatic slowdown in the European economy.” Forbes, 9/5/2014.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/adamhartung/2014/09/05/obama-outperforms-reagan-on-jobs-growth-and-investing/
“[Update 1/14/15 – Streak of hiring makes 2014 the best year for new jobs creation since 1999 – when Bill Clinton was President. Confidence high for 2015]
[Update 2/6/15 – Jobs production continues as 257,000 new jobs were created in America in January. And wages make their highest jump in 6 years. Further, the November jobs number was revised upward to 414,000 – and the December number was revised upward to 329,000. Pay in 2014 rose 2.2%, vs. inflation of .8%]”
http://www.forbes.com/sites/samanthasharf/2014/09/05/jobs-report-u-s-economy-added-142000-jobs-in-august-unemployment-down-to-6-1/
Yeah lets shut down the mill just to see the town squirm, along with the couple thousand people who either make their living directly or indirectly from this mill. Where do these people come from?
Verso owns eight papermills across the U.S. The Jay mill ranks dead last among those eight mills in profit and production efficiency. Verso is an investment corporation that is interested in one thing-turning a healthy profit for its’ investors. If the general health of the paper industry in the state of Maine is in’ critical condition’ as many rightly believe, then the Jay mill is on ‘life-support’. Some people in Jay best wake up soon or they may get a taste of what Bucksport recently was’ force fed’.
The luxuries that you have enjoyed for so many years at the expense of your paper mills may become a faded memory. The recent national economic up-tick has been very limited and Verso Paper has NOT been among the small group of benefactors!
JL, You did a good job of pointing out some of the plights of small business owners. Many of these points are not understood by the general public who have never owned or operated a small business. It’s easy for someone on the outside looking in to view an owner of a seemingly successful business as rolling in the dough when in fact most are struggling to build their business, do the necessary upkeep, increase employment opportunities, reward their associates and pay their taxes. It’s no shame on the general public that they don’t understand or appreciate all of that, but it is a shame when our government leaders don’t get it. Ironically government policy regarding taxation today is squeezing the goose that lays the golden so hard, trying to extract every ounce of gold from her they can get, that they’re squeezing her to death.
Elmira you do realize that my article I quoted was a rebuttal piece to yours and previous OB supporting pieces…anyway, that is why I always try really really hard not to start a quote-fest, especially something you do so well with your added non original comments or opinions, just cynical rants and personal hate attacks. I have said in the past, this form of commentary is not complementary of opposing positions or arguments, just makes reading really boring and tedious…I digress.
Also, I remember you saying at one point in the past, that you are for the little guy, the poor the unable to take care of themselves, or something like that? “Party line, holding your ground”, is not really what you should be doing in this article/response. The alternative is that you are in support of killing the mill by taxation. Is that what you want? Here is my invite to you…after the mill is shut down, I want to see you in Jay explaining to the families why you love this administration so much and fully believe that we have a rising economy and help is on the way.
C. Ester says it well: “Verso owns eight papermills across the U.S. The Jay mill ranks dead last among those eight mills in profit and production efficiency. Verso is an investment corporation that is interested in one thing-turning a healthy profit for its’ investors. If the general health of the paper industry in the state of Maine is in’ critical condition’ as many rightly believe, then the Jay mill is on ‘life-support’.”
“River towns in the forest from eastern Washington to the coast of Maine have lost more than a hundred paper mills in a wave of consolidation in little more than a decade — a trend most people in the industry expect to continue. Wisconsin has lost nine paper mills since 2005.”
http://www.startribune.com/business/179601951.html
Times change, business trends, too. There used to be a strong shoe industry here in Maine. Don’t know which President JL wants to blame that on.
Unintended consequences….haha
Go ahead and redistribute the wealth Obamas way.
Its also going to redistribute poverty..(duh).
So the currently poor Will swap places with the currently taxed to death lower middle working class..
And the truly wealthy stay that way.
BRILLIANT GENIUS ADMINISTRATION.
So yes..
the day after I’m redistributed out of business into poverty I expect my ebt card promptly delivered.
And I’m sure you won’t mind if I spend it on golf also…
Thanks in advance…
Elmira posts = Scroll on by without even glancing at it, same ole moan and groan as usual … same with Snowman … Both are very adept at pointing out flaws (well, republican ones anyways), but very short on the solutions side of the discussion.
As a tax payer in Jay it is apparent to me that this is a case of town government as usual. This town is still in International Paper mode. Lets spend with no fiscal constraint, because that’s what we have always done. The town has engaged in a dangerous game of chicken with Verso. In the end Verso may see no other choice than to shut its doors. What happens then, town of Jay when the Riley Road cash cow is gone?Hopefully I will be a tax payer in a different municipality by then.