As a member of Bath Citizens for Responsible TIF Action, I’ve learned a great deal about taxincrement financing and the TIF amendment put before the Bath City Council by Bath Iron Works.

The planning committee of our group has worked very hard to ensure the Nov. 13 public forum, noted in The Times Record on Oct. 29 (Local briefs, Page A2), offers the opportunity for robust dialogue and enlightenment.

We are extremely disappointed BIW is declining our invitation to be on the panel and to speak in favor of the city granting their request. They are the only party that can answer a few questions we’d hoped to address. The appearance of a group of BIW management folks at Wednesday night’s City Council meeting, to apparently instill fear in the minds of those listening to the debate, was expected. It was also, sadly, not a surprise that a few choice questions put to BIW were conveniently ignored.

We also note that BIW’s claim that there have already been three public forums is a bit disingenuous; these were buried in regular City Council sessions, one-sided, not widely advertised and ill-attended. One “session” took place at 10:30 at night.

The request before the city involves a Credit Enhancement Agreement to an existing TIF district where BIW operates and wishes to do an expansion. The CEA would grant a 25-year tax refund of approximately $250,000 per year to BIW. If the CEA is not granted, BIW would pay approximately $500,000 a year to the city.

Often, an argument in favor of TIFs and CEAs is that the tax money the city gets from the development is “sheltered” from “tax shifts” to the state and county, but in this case, the money will already be sheltered, since the TIF already exists. What BIW is asking for is merely a tax deal.

BIW has also made clear that this expansion would not add new jobs to BIW.

Our questions for BIW are:

BIW has also made clear that this expansion would not add new jobs to BIW.

Our questions for BIW are:

— Why are you asking for this tax break? Homeowners and small business owners are seeing their taxes going up each year. The only explanation we see at this time is that it helps your bottom line. General Dynamics isn’t a multibillion-dollar company because it’s missed opportunities.

— Would you do the expansion without the CEA? Research suggests you would, especially since there are reportedly new contracts for three $4 billion Zumwalts with fresh ink on them. The expansion would unquestionably earn BIW even more business down the road.

— What are the options if you don’t get the CEA? Are you saying this $250,000 a year — so crucial to the city of Bath — is so essential to General Dynamics that it might put BIW out of business? This seems unlikely.

We publicly invite BIW once again to join our panel Nov. 13 at City Hall. We expect a large public turnout. Other panelists include Joel Johnson, an economist from the Maine Center for Economic Policy; and TIF expert Orlando Delogu — a University of Maine law professor emeritus. The forum at Bath City Hall Auditorium starts at 6:30 p.m. We expect a number, if not all, of our local state legislators to attend.

For more information, email citizensTIFinfo@gmail.com.

LORRY FLEMING, of Bath, is a committee member of Bath Citizens for Responsible TIF Action.