The Cumberland Town Council voted unanimously on Oct. 26 to oppose Question 2, which is called "excise tax reform."
The majority of Cumberland residents will see no excise tax reduction because only those cars five years and newer will pay a reduced excise tax. Vehicles older than five years will receive no excise tax reduction, and yet 52 percent of all vehicles registered in Cumberland are more than five years old.
If passed, the town of Cumberland will lose $531,000 in annual excise revenue. If this loss was recovered solely through property taxes, the town will need to increase our mill rate by 46 cents. This 3.2 percent hike translates to a $161 property tax increase to the average Cumberland homeowner – the same homeowner who saw no savings in excise tax.
Excise taxes generally support the maintenance of our roads, including snow plowing, street sweeping, storm drain repairs, paving and larger-scale reconstruction projects like Range Road. Passage of this initiative will severely impact Cumberland's municipal services.
The inequities in this initiative and its impact on our residents are bad public policy. If passed, Question 2 will cause significant cuts in municipal services, an increase in property taxes, or worse yet, a combination of the two. We urge you to vote "no."
Please visit our Web site at www.cumberlandmaine.com to review more information.
Ron Copp Jr.
Town Council chairman
Cumberland
Question 2 hangs the bait of a tax break but falls short of offering any real tax savings. It is merely a tax shift, from people with new cars to homeowners and people with older cars.
The question threatens the municipal budgets of every city and town. Before applauding this, consider that school and county obligations make up about 75 percent of any budget, and contractual obligations lock in most of the remainder.
This leaves very little that local officials can cut. Most prominent of the remainder is road repairs.
If you want to drive your new car on roads of broken pavement and potholes, you might support Question 2. Just be sure to look at the destination sign before you take the bait.
Larz Neilson
East Boothbay
