On Oct. 25 and 26, the Island Institute will host a meeting for islanders, called The Affordable Coast. The meeting will focus on escalating property taxes, the shortage of affordable housing and disappearing working waterfront.
“We hope that this meeting will be an opportunity for islanders to share stories about the relevance of these issues to all our communities, and about what has and hasn’t worked in trying to address them,” said Nathan Michaud, the Institute’s community planning officer, who is organizing the event.
The proceedings will be published in a booklet which will be available to members of other communities faced with these problems, and which can communicate to policy makers the ways in which forces such as rising property taxes impact specific communities.
The meeting will be preceded on Friday by workshops on the “nuts and bolts” of property taxation in Maine, including a discussion of the mechanics of property assessment and summaries of the various tax reform proposals currently in circulation.
District 13 Senator Peter Mills, who brings considerable enthusiasm and knowledge to property taxation issues, will speak at the Affordable Coast meeting. Sen. Mills favors a proposal for tax reform that would allow towns to tax year-round and seasonal residents at different rates.
Lunch will be served Friday and Saturday and accommodations provided both nights. Anyone interested in attending the conference should contact Nathan Michaud (594-9209 / nmichaud@islandinstitute.org) no later than Monday, Oct. 14.
The Affordable Coast * Preliminary Meeting Schedule
Oct. 25-26, 2002 – Island Institute, Rockland
FRIDAY 10/25
Noon – 4 :00 Lunch & Property Tax Workshop
5:00 – 6:30 Refreshments and Speaker – Sen. Peter Mills, Farmington
SATURDAY 10/26
8:30 – 9:00 Continental Breakfast Available
9:00 – 9:45 Speaker
9:45 – 10:00 Break
10:00 – 11:30 Property Tax Discussion
11:30 – 12:30 Lunch
12:30 – 2:00 Waterfront Access Discussion
2:00 – 2:15 Break
2:15 – 3:45 Affordable Housing Discussion
3:45 – 4:00 Wrap-Up