Quote:
Originally Posted by Locker
I formerly owned a property on Frye Island on Sebago Lake. They succeded from the town of Standish and became their own entity. Reviews are mixed on whether this was a good idea subject to whom you talked with. Consider the following (at least this applied in the state of Maine). Approximately 80% of tax revenue goes to education. I don't think that you could get out from under this burden by succeding. (This is the same burden childless couples, retirees etc. have on the mainland). Secondly, all of the other town services like tax collection, building inspectors, etc. would have to be duplicated. I am not sure if Gilford would turn over the town docks to the islanders if we succeded so you may have an issue with access. Since only a portion of your taxes goes to something other than education I think you would find that the left over portion would not go far and you might end up paying more. That was the case with Frye Island. There might be other alternatives that may make more sense. I would suggest that a group gather all the facts to ensure that proceeding makes sense. If like in Maine 80% is not variable, it would be a huge burden for a minimal return.
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Locker is correct. Although I wasn't here for the secession I am now actively involved in the Town government on Frye Island. Getting here wasn't easy. You need the approval of the Town you are seceeding from and then the Legislature. The Town budget is 1.9 million dollars with 1.2 million going towards the schools that we do not have one single student enrolled in (never did). You have to set up an entire government structure, Selectmen, Planning Board, ZBA, Police, Fire, DPW, Assessors, etc. It was a tremendous amount of work for a lot of people. We are very independent and for the most part, we like it. The details are lengthy so I won't go into it here but for those of you that are interested, this months DownEast magazine has a great article about the island. Other than the title of the article, we aren't temporary, it fairly accurate. It can be found here:
http://www.fryeisland.com/downeast0907/index.htm
Blue Thunder