For more than four hours, Greenville Town Manager John Simko waited Thursday to discuss a unique cost-sharing proposal with a commission studying the delivery of services to the unorganized territory, but he never got the opportunity.

When Rep. Robert Duplessie, D-Westbrook, moved to adjourn the meeting late Thursday afternoon in Augusta after presentations by the Maine Forest Service and the Land Use Regulation Commission, Simko's hand shot up.

Simko acknowledged it was late in the day, but he wanted the committee members to have a copy of his proposal for their review. His proposal, one that has been fine-tuned and expanded since he first released the concept to his Board of Selectmen and Piscataquis County commissioners earlier this fall, seeks to address the inequities in tax rates between the unorganized territory and neighboring towns.

The idea for Simko to share his proposal with the study commission came from Gov. John Baldacci, who met with Simko earlier this month to discuss the proposal. Since the study commission was charged by the Legislature to address the "phenomenal" changes in land ownership in the unorganized territory, its rapid development, the implications of these changes and the fair allocation of the costs, Baldacci thought Simko's proposal should be considered.

Simko was aware that the commission's agenda had been set in advance, but he said he was told by commission member Sen. Bruce Bryant, D-Dixfield, that he would be given an opportunity to be heard during the afternoon session.

The only problem was that Bryant later left the meeting, and no one else was aware that Simko wanted to address the commission. "It's part of the process," Simko said, unfazed by being overlooked. He welcomed the fact that his proposal will be placed on the commission's Nov. 29 agenda.

"We're going to be in a good position come Nov. 29 to speak to them," he said.

Simko has proposed that a cost-sharing formula be created in which the unorganized territory would contribute for indirect services provided by neighboring towns, such as recreational facilities and airports.

To help defray the capital costs of new or expanded infrastructure, the need for which would be triggered by growth in the unorganized territory, Simko has recommended the creation of an account that would be funded either by a common, regionwide impact fee for major development or by a percentage of new property tax revenue in the unorganized territory and surrounding communities.

That may be a hard sell for some landowners in the unorganized territory. Steve Schley of Seven Islands Land Management Co., which manages Pingree heir land in the unorganized territory, suggested to the commission Thursday morning that his landowners are contributing enough in taxes already.

About 75 percent of the Pingree land is in conservation easements and has no permanent residents, Schley said.

The firm pays for its own contractors to maintain and plow roads, builds its own roads, generates no solid waste and has no schoolchildren, so it requires little from county government.

Schley said Pingree heir land already is paying for an abundance of services it does not need. The costs should be borne by residents who live in the developed parts of the unorganized territory and use the services, rather than shifting the costs to large landowners, Schley suggested.

Residents of the unorganized territory and proposed new development create the workload, he said. Simko said Schley had a good point. "If they're way out in the middle of nowhere and they don't have any population, why should they be saddled with something like cost-sharing for the [Greenville] Junction Wharf?" he asked.

The unorganized territory that directly surrounds Greenville should help pay for the infrastructure, he said. But just how a system can be devised to do that was a question he had hoped to address during the meeting but will now wait until Nov. 29.

The commission has been directed to report back to the Legislature by Dec. 7 with its recommendations, but Duplessie noted Thursday that a time extension will be requested.
"This content originally appeared as a copyrighted article in the Saturday, November 12, 2005 edition of the Bangor Daily NEWS and is used here with permission."