TIF tax (increment financing) approved for Stetson Mountain (wind) project (Maine)

http://bangornews.com/news/t/downeast.aspx?articleid=156769&zoneid=177

MACHIAS, Maine — Washington County officials have given a boost to a power project planned for northern Washington County and set a milestone in Maine by becoming the first county in the state to establish a tax increment financing district in the Unorganized Territory.

By approving the TIF district for the Evergreen Wind Power project on remote Stetson Mountain, the Washington County commissioners will get to keep approximately $3.8 million of the $9.4 million in tax revenue generated by the project over the next 20 years. The county will use its share of the taxes for other economic development projects in Washington County and return the remaining $5.6 million to Evergreen for reinvestment in the project.

"I think it’s a great project," Chris Gardner, chairman of the Washington County commissioners, said Tuesday. "We are a very pro-business board of commissioners. Responsible economic development is a good thing."

The revenue normally would go to the state, but with the TIF all of it will go toward economic development projects in Washington County, including the Stetson Mountain proposal, Gardner said. A revolving loan for small business and either a county economic development position or an economic development contract with Sunrise County Economic Council are among the projects the county might fund with its share of the tax revenue, he said.

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