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I don't have a lot of time to day so I am just posting some quotes from The Caribou Secessionist Representatives Report which was largely ignored by the Bangor Daily News Editorial Staff as they published this sort of opinionated and dis-informed view:
Worse, such an assessment makes it seem as if rural residents never go into cities or use their services. We doubt that is the case. -Bangor Daily News Editorial Opinion !
Commentary ! Has it ever occurred to the editors of Bangor Daily News that it is a two way street- that urban folk like to go to the country as well? According to their logic all Maine taxpayers should be subsidizing Portland - Augusta, Bangor and other urban centers along with the state courts of MRRA & Lorring ! That would drive taxes so high in rural Maine that current residents would be forced to lose their property , which a wealthier class o fcitizens could then take over !- Those made wealthy by Maine State Inc redistribution of wealth policies !
Report of The Caribou Succession Committee Representatives
References will be made to the 2014 COMPREHENSIVE PLAN of the City of Caribou. This plan was recently updated by the Planning Board and adopted by the City Council November 24, 2014. Portions of the plan contain factual information which the future town of Lyndon may adopt in the short term. Other portions of the Comprehensive Plan contain language which serves to expose the long standing and deeply rooted anti-rural bias held by the City Council and the Planning Board. It is very illustrative of the lack of fairness and institutional discrimination to which rural citizens are presently subjected.
And finally, our report will touch on the existence of “two Maines”. Not northern Maineversus southern Maine, as is usually discussed, but one of rural Maine versus urbanMaine. We will discuss the competing and disparate needs of its respective citizens with regards to the unequal delivery of government services. Presently, a condition existswhere about 31% of Caribou’s rural population resides in the Territory and pays taxes amounting to nearly 40% of all the revenue raised from property taxes citywide, yet receives less than half of the services that are provided to urban citizens! The Caribou Secession Committee (hereinafter referred to as the Committee) recognizes that the city is constitutionally required to assess all property fairly and uniformly, but it is not obligated to provide equal services to every resident!
This report also presents the reader with our vision of the future town of Lyndon as a self-governing, autonomous municipality utilizing the “Town Meeting” form government so prevalent in Maine today; wherein all its citizens receive the same level of services and taxes are never more than that which are absolutely essential to providing those basic services. A detailed analysis of the tax revenue that can be realized from real and personal property currently situated within the secession territory illustrates that it is sufficient to provide rural residents with the same level of basic services that they now have and receive a 28% reduction in their property tax bill, assuming a modest amount of state revenue sharing. If revenue sharing is discontinued as proposed in the Governor’s next biennial budget, the amount of the property tax savings will be reduced proportionally.
• Police services are presently provided in the Secession Territory by different law enforcement agencies on a limited, shared and overlapping basis. They are the Caribou Police Department, the Aroostook County Sheriff’s Office, the Maine State Police and the Maine Warden Service.The Committee believes that the elimination of the Caribou PoliceDepartment from this phalanx of law enforcement officers does notdiminish public safety in the territory. Therefore, the Committee has noimmediate plan to provide additional and redundant police services.
• Ambulance services are now provided by the City of Caribou. Future services for the town of Lyndon may be provided through a mediated agreement or contract with the City of Caribou or by the Crown Ambulance Company on a per capita basis, estimated to be about $32,000.00. agreement or contract with the City of Caribou or by the Crown Ambulance Company on a per capita basis, estimated to be about $32,000.00.
• Fire protection services are now provided by the City of Caribou. Future services for the town of Lyndon may be provided through a mediatedagreement or contract with the City of Caribou on a per capita basis or by aVolunteer Fire Department established in collaboration with the County ofAroostook. Any volunteer department so established, would also serve theresidents of the unorganized territory of Connor and would be augmentedby mutual aide agreements with the surrounding departments. TheCommittee has begun discussions with the Aroostook CountyAdministrator and County Commissioners who have indicated they areopen to a future partnership agreement in this regard.
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