A grassroots advisory group invites fellow residents to join them on November 18 to discuss shared concerns about the growing impact of local property taxes on the community.
The Cumberland/North Yarmouth Taxpayer Advisory Group (C/NY Advisory) is hosting an open house at North Yarmouth's Wescustogo Hall from 2 pm – 4 pm on Saturday.
The event, advertised as a community conversation, will focus on growth and development in both towns, the potential impact of a new school building, and the challenges of a joint school district. C/NY Advisory sees these as key to slowing and addressing uncontrolled taxes.
C/NY Advisory says recent municipal discussions about supporting affordability in the community have been ineffective. Municipal growth, increasing median income, and tax rates are hurting longtime, senior, single-income, and middle-income residents.
North Yarmouth resident and C/NY Advisory member Bill Young said after 2 ½ years of posting to the community Facebook page about local issues, he doesn’t see much progress in getting officials to listen to community concerns.
What the C/NY Advisory views as agenda-driven policy-making by municipal and SAD leaders negatively impacts the taxpayers and is undermining work of each organization in areas such as delivering affordable housing and mitigating current school overcrowding.
Young said, “Residents have been putting themselves out there to bring up concerns of taxes, LUO’s, zoning, misuse of power, and misuse of funds only to be disregarded by their so-called leaders. It was time to put strength in numbers to the test.”
According to C/NY Advisory, this is an opportunity for residents to be heard. Social media does not reach the whole community, and some just don’t like how discussions happen on the Facebook page. Saturday’s forum is open to all residents.
A goal of the event will be to gather information to determine “how we go forward based on citizen concerns.”
C/NY Advisory believes it is important to work on the issue as a joint community because “what is happening in both towns affects both towns financially.”
Finding ways for resident voices to be more prominent in municipal and SAD decision-making is challenging. C/NY Advisory admits this is a “tall order” but says they have plenty of determination and will advocate for citizens when needed.
The major focus right now is the proposed new school because of the anticipated large tax impact.
C/NY Advisory has met with school committee members and local officials and believes they have made some progress. “We bring facts and a spirit of community. You can’t argue with either,” said Young
The November 18 forum is a significant first step in the group’s plan. Moving forward, they will be fine-tuning their work to ensure it supports the priorities of residents.
The group says focus will be to educate the tax community and advocate for citizens when normal communication channels are unsuccessful. Honesty, clarity, and transparency are goals.
Young denies being an anti-new-school PAC. “We are against overspending on anything without going through the proper steps to ensure that the residents’ concerns are foremost in any decision.”
C/NY Advisory believes officials have not done enough to control local taxes, and that needs to change.
Young explained, “We need to advocate for the slowing of development that increases the census of the school and thereby increasing taxes. We need to do a better job of allowing seniors to stay in their own homes. To allow the common working family to not be overburdened by taxes. We need the leadership to understand and come to an understanding of what community really is.”
C/NY Advisory says it is an independent group with expertise in IT, education, town history, and finance.
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