TOPSHAM

With the state budget starting to take better shape, Sen. Linda Baker, R-Topsham, asked for a workshop with Topsham selectmen to have a conversation about budget matters affecting their town. It is the sixth such meeting she’s conducted with the municipalities she represents. On Thursday, she met with the Topsham Board of Selectmen along with Jonathan LaBonte, director of the state Office of Policy and Management.

To start the 90-minute conversation — covering a range of issues from tax reform to charter school funding — board chairman Don Russell asked about the annual loss of revenue the town sees from the state.

“I guess what you can do for the town is tell us where we can go or how we can increase revenue coming into this town without going up on property taxes every year,” he said. “Because it seems like a lot of the initiatives at the state level end up as expenses for us when they talk about saving money. The bottom line is, we get less for one reason or the other.”

Selectmen agreed that the town has been prudent with taxpayer money and is doing what it should be — bringing in businesses.

LaBonte, also the mayor of Auburn, said 37 percent of all general fund revenue went to local governments in 2005 — including municipalities, school districts and counties. In 2015, 37 percent of those revenues still went to local government not including funding for the county jails. The state spends twice the national average for spending on school administration costs, he said.

With thousands of dollars needed to replace public safety vehicles, plow trucks and other equipment, while facing utility increases, Selectman William Thompson said this is where loss of revenue sharing will hurt.

LaBonte asked the board about the town’s regionalization efforts.

Russell talked about the county-wide consolidation of dispatch services several years ago. He pointed to mandated school regionalization, and how School Administrative District 75 found it would be more expensive to combine with another school district.

It is no secret the governor wants to force regionalization by removing the revenue sharing, Russell said, “but the problem is … how do you get there? Because Maine and some of the New England states have their own way of doing things.”

He said the mindset of wanting to keep local control creates a hurdle for regionalization efforts.

“And until that mentality breaks, it’s going to be a long, long while,” Russell said. “I think we’re looking at a couple generations at least before that takes place.”

“I hope not. I’m not sure we can afford it,” LaBonte said.

Seniors in town are struggling, Selectwoman Ruth Lyons said. She spoke in support of tax relief for the elderly — but doesn’t want to take from the young working people. Gov. Paul LePage proposes to double the Homestead Exemption for seniors over 65 and eliminate it for homeowners under 65.

LaBonte said there are many moving parts to this plan so “folks grab onto a particular issue and say I’m losing on this issue,” and go to the mats on it. “And in reality perhaps their net benefit is greater.”

He said this is one of the reasons the calculator was rolled out (www.maine.gov/governor/lepage/taxcalculator/index.html), “and why we’ve tried to be out on the road talking with folks. Tax reform is not a simple process because it comes out of your pocket in a whole bunch of different ways.”

LaBonte said the state needs to modernize its tax code and stabilize by broadening. LePage wants Maine to move away from taxing work to taxing consumption.

Thompson said the state needs to show the towns some benefits.

Town Manager Rich Roedner noted the town has been desginated a Business Friendly Community and “if this is a true program, and it’s something other than a free sign or two, figure out a benefit for those communities that meet that threshold — something tangable that’s going to help us.”

“It’s clear acknowledgement that there’s no easy fix for anything,” Baker said after the workshop. “If you take from one place, how are you going to replace that without raising taxes.

“We aren’t in a position to create money until or unless we can get more busineses into Maine and to work on keeping our retirees; keeping our youth,” she added.

Baker said revenue sharing “is certainly back on the table,” and the proposed taxing of nonprofits it appears will likely be off the table.

Also very frustrating for local officials are cases of state roads, for example, that are maintained by municipalities. The question is how much cost should the state be incurring. Should the state be footing that bill for state-connected tasks in town offices — whether you want to call it revenue sharing or utilize a different formula to reimburse municiaplities?

“I don’t know but there are some ideas out there,” Baker said.

She said Topsham is “at the top of our game because we’re highly effecient; highly effective, working with minimal resources. We do an incrediby job.”

However, Baker added, “I think the jar’s getting empty. There isn’t any place else to dip from, so we have to find means of increasing revenue and whether that’s the governor’s proposal of expanding the sales tax — there are all kind of options but something does need to be done.”

“I think it’s very, very important that the town officials be heard and that those of us who are able, take back what we do here,” she said.