In My Opinion: Oh My God, The Taxes

In 2023, the State Legislature, in all its infinite wisdom, repealed the Limitation on the Municipal Property Tax Levy. In other words, the city now has carte blanche on what it can charge for property taxes without limitations.

The city will tell you it's because a reevaluation hasn't been done in forty years. Then why did they wait until 2023 when the original 2005 law was repealed? They had forty years, after all.

Well, it seems pretty simple. Post-COVID, home prices reached an all-time high. The big money grab was on! Now, I can't confirm this number, but I heard the city paid $1.5 million for an out-of-state agency to conduct the reevaluation.

The city can't continue to crush the middle class. Without a middle class, a city will experience severe economic instability.  

Again, the city is failing to have a thorough plan. It's just more of a knee-jerk reaction.

Don't even get me started on the schools. The Bangor School District received an increase of almost $7 million, but they have fewer students. This also impacts your property taxes.

Where is the economic development? Bangor has a 15% poverty rate, and I don't see anything about bringing good-paying jobs into the city. Let's see how that conversation would go with a prospective industry.

"The City of Bangor would love to have your business call us home".

The taxes are high, we don't offer incentives to businesses, your employees won't be able to find housing, your employees' children will be placed in a high school that ranks 40th in the state, you won't be able to find a doctor, and the crime is high." "Welcome!"

Are you kidding me! All the city's eggs can no longer go into one basket. There needs to be both short-term and long-term goals to address all the issues plaguing this city and initiate the process of growth. I saw a very pretty (and I'm certain, a very expensive) comprehensive plan developed in 2022 full of feel-good words. However, in reading it, I can't see where any of these plans have been put into motion. It appears to be a document created solely to check a box and gather dust.

I love this city, and it is my home. However, if things don't change, we will never have a home that is affordable or safe.

If you've liked what I said, please vote for me, Colleen O'Neal, on November 4th!