Many residents have read in the local media of staffing shortages at the Knox County Regional Communications Center. These shortages put in peril the ability for the dispatch center to operate and put the leaders of Rockport’s public safety agencies, Fire Chief Peasley and Police Chief Gagne, into action to attempt to resolve this crisis.

Both chiefs have worked diligently with their counterparts across the county to remind Knox County’s commissioners and administration of their responsibility to manage this service without interruption.

Thanks to sufficient pressure placed by our area public safety chiefs, Knox County entered into an agreement with Waldo County Regional Communications Center to receive 911 calls from Knox County municipalities. Then the information from those calls can be re-routed to dispatchers at Knox County Regional Communication Center before being relayed to the appropriate agency for response whether that is fire, police, or EMS.

I am thankful Chief Peasley and Chief Gagne have led on this matter and are working closely with their colleagues, but I am dismayed this situation was able to progress to this point before municipal leaders rang the alarm. For a quarter of a century, KCRCC has been a valuable piece of the puzzle keeping Rockport and our neighbors as safe as one can expect.

KCRCC’s creation is a testament to the idea that working with our neighbors can be beneficial and provide results beyond what our single community could expect in terms of services provided.

None of us in Knox County leadership have a monopoly on good ideas and the problems we face are too numerous to count. Honest and transparent conversations about success and struggles can help us all face an uncertain future for public safety in Midcoast Maine. Chief Peasley, Chief Gagne, and I remain ready and willing to sit down and participate in solving what ails but we need partners on all sides to make a solution possible.

General Assistance

We have had an uncharacteristically overwhelming amount of financial support our General Assistance department has been asked to provide this summer. This situation is manyfold but changes in the state’s General Assistance program to address homelessness at the outset of the pandemic and the tight housing market make it very difficult for those struggling.

Many may suggest homelessness is not an issue in an area such as Midcoast Maine, but the lack of available resources and places to lay one’s head at night cause challenges for so many of our residents.

The General Assistance program is not set up to be a long-term solution for those seeking help but the lack of answers from state resources has left municipalities to fill gaps they are not usually asked to support. One such still unresolved circumstance this week involved our police officers trying on multiple occasions to reach those at DHHS to send a case worker to assist a family in need.

This system is at no longer at a breaking point... it is broken. While all involved are doing their best to assist families in need, small municipalities are not well equipped to tackle these issues. If that is what we are tasked to do to ensure residents in our community can have a roof over their head we will, but our town and our region need support.

Emergency Management

Town Employees and Select Board members will have a tabletop exercise with Knox EMA on Monday, September 18 on “Major Rain/Wind Event causing road closures and washouts” to help prepare us for upcoming storms.

Assessing

Given the recent letters to property tax payers concerning new values, I thought it might be helpful to use this space with some information from Assessor Kerry Leichtman explaining how property valuation works and how it impacts the taxes all of us pay.

HOW IS YOUR PROPERTY VALUE ESTIMATED?
The assessor estimates the value of your property typically by first examining and collecting information on the physical characteristics of the property. Physical characteristics can include, among others, the square footage of land and improvements, the number of bedrooms in a home, whether the improvements include a garage, the number of bathrooms, and the nature of amenities such as swimming pools and fireplaces. For some properties such as income- generating properties, the assessor estimates the amount of income the property can generate. On other properties, nonphysical characteristics such as easements can affect the value of improvements. Location also is a key characteristic affecting value. Using a mass appraisal system, the assessor analyzes sales, income, and cost data to arrive at an estimate of value. In some instances where warranted, the assessor may rely more heavily on sales or income or cost data to estimate the value. Also, the assessor may find in some instances that particular properties cannot be analyzed through mass appraisal and require individual appraisals to estimate the value.

WHAT CAUSES PROPERTY VALUES TO CHANGE?
A property’s value can change for many reasons. The most obvious is that the property changes: a bedroom, garage, or swimming pool is added, or part of the property is destroyed by flood or fire. Sometimes, a change in use can affect the property’s value, such as an apartment building being converted to condominiums. The most frequent cause of a change in value is a change in the market. If a town’s major industry leaves, property values can collapse. As decayingneighborhoods with good housing stock are discovered by young homebuyers, prices gradually rise and then soar as the neighborhood becomes fashionable. A shortage of detached houses in a desirable city neighborhood can send prices to ridiculous levels. In a recession, larger homes may stay on the market for a long time, but more affordable homes are in demand, so their prices rise. In a stable neighborhood with no extraordinary pressure from the market, inflation can increase property value.

The biggest questions I am sure are:
If assessed value rises, do taxes have to rise? The answer is NO.
If assessed value falls, do taxes have to fall? The answer is NO.

To express your concern effectively, you must understand the two parts of the property tax system: valuation and taxation. Your assessor’s office determines the value of your property; your taxing authority determines the amount your property will be taxed. It is the combination of these two parts that determines how much you will pay in taxes.

Taxing authorities decide the amount of the property tax that is owed each year, including whether the overall property tax rises, falls, or stays the same. Subject to state and local limitations, the taxing authority can determine property taxes either by adjusting the total dollars requested or by adjusting (or not adjusting) the tax rate. The amounts set by the taxing authority in combination with your assessed value determine how much you pay in taxes.

For example, suppose tax authorities decide to raise $1 million in property taxes and the assessor estimates the total assessed value of all taxable property in your community at $100 million. Then the property tax rate would be calculated by dividing the amount of tax to be raised by the total assessed value: $1 million/$100 million = 1 percent.

If your home’s assessed value is $100,000, your property tax bill will be: 1 percent x $100,000 = $1,000.

For another example, suppose the total assessed value of your community doubles from $100 million to $200 million and the amount to be raised stays the same. The tax rate will be: $1 million/$200 million = 0.5 percent.

Your taxes, even though your home has doubled in value, will be the same: 0.5 percent x $200,000 = $1,000.

Town Clerk

Online Tax Payments. With tax bills soon to be in the mail, this is a reminder our online tax payment system is now live on the Town website. Reminder letters have recently gone to those who have not yet paid property taxes and we will soon liening properties. This online tax payment service will always be live, and we will be including information on the upcoming tax bills about how to use this service.

Planning and Community Development

Staff. Annie McGowan, Planning and Codes Administrative Assistant has resigned, we wish her all the best in her future endeavors.

Fire Department

New Hire. After a brief search, I am pleased to announce the hiring of Michael Root as a full- time Firefighter/EMT starting on Monday, August 28. Michael has done considerable training as an EMT but will be working to complete his certifications in this area. Michael comes to the Town from the KCRCC but also served as a member of the fire department in Thomaston. We expect to have Mike and his soon-to-be hired counterpart work during the day shift (7 a.m. to7 p.m.) when the vast majority of Rockport’s fire and EMS calls come in but like anything new I’m sure there may be some tweaks along the way. Feel free to stop by the fire department to welcome Michael to the crew!

For those interested in learning more about joining the fire department in a volunteer capacity, please contact Chief Peasley at jpeasley@rockportmaine.gov

Calls. We are once again on pace to set a new record for calls for the department for a year with 180 calls thus far this calendar year.

Opera House

The Opera House auditorium and stage are nearly complete as we regroup following sprinkler damage from this winter. Many thanks to Alex, Tim, Bettina and the whole team at Hayrunner as they have worked diligently to get this project completed on time for a library event in early September. More work remains on the lower level to repair the Parker Room through the fall, so we are not yet back to 100% capacity however the light is at the end of the tunnel.

Event. Mark your calendars! We will be hosting a New Years Eve Party with the outstanding local band Creatures of Habit. More information soon.

Staff. We are sad to report Nancy Albertson, our Marketing and Booking Agent, has resigned. Nancy’s involvement has been truly fantastic, and she is a huge loss for us as we move toward re-opening the Opera House. Thank you, Nancy!

Library

Events. The Rockport Library Foundation is sponsoring a sold-out event on September 8 with New York Times Crossworld Puzzle Master Will Shortz at the Opera House. This will be the first event at the Opera House since repairs were completed to the auditorium this summer.

Many events are happening at the library so please keep an eye on the Rockport Public Library website and Facebook page. We will also provide a list of events in our Rockport Resource Newsletter.

Book Sale. Once again, the Friends of Rockport Public Library held a book sale on August 25 and 26.

Website. The library is excited to launch their brand-new website at RockportLibrary.net. While the old website address works, this new web address should help us all find the library’s website so much easier!

Building Improvements. Library director Ben Blackmon applied for and received a grant from Broadband County for a cell phone repeater to address poor cell reception on the lower level of the building. We hope to have the new antenna installed soon.

Finance

As fall rolls in, our finance department has been engaged in preparing our annual capital improvement plan, assisting with a staffing needs assessment, and beginning preparations for our annual audit. Our new finance clerk, Coleen Narofsky, has begun cross training with our clerk’s office staff as we extend our needs for cross training throughout the town office building.

Buildings and Grounds

Parks. Throughout the summer our Buildings and Grounds crew have worked on a series of projects in our parks around their usual mowing schedule. In particular, Walker Park was in need of some careful attention with the roofs above the picnic tables and the steps from the parking lot both in need of some real help. Many thanks to Matt and Glen for their efforts in getting those projects wrapped up and if I didn’t already mention it in this space, thanks to our public worksstaff who installed the new merry go round.

The absence of the merry go round at Walker Park was notable over the last few years but the Parks and Beautification Committee worked to see funds were set aside for the purchase of a new merry go round.

Our Buildings and Grounds crew will now turn their attention to the park in Glen Cove. Despite some extensive brush cutting in recent years, the view from the parking spots is nearly fully obstructed. Glen and Matt will be opening up that view while being mindful of Poison Ivy throughout the bank above Glen Cove.

Public Works

Projects. Our public works crew has been working in preparation for paving in a number of spots throughout town. I suspect most residents have already noticed Performance Paving has completed the bulk of their work on Park Street and Meadow Street last week. Last summer we reclaimed the entire stretch of road from the Camden town line to the Route 90 intersection and paved a single binder coat of pavement with the expectation of letting the road settle before completing the project this summer.

Other roads in process toward paving this fall include Winding Way, Forrest Glen/Forrest Street West, Amsbury Hill, Birch Street, Franklin Street, Pine Street, Kathy’s Lane, Bonny Street, Karen Lane, Wellington Drive, Ashley Terrace, Terrier Circle, and Lexington Drive.

Improvements to the gravel roads on Chapel Road and Beauchamp Point Road are also due to be completed this fall. Of course, weather can always cause issues as we attempt to complete these projects and the consistent rains of June have put us further behind schedule than we would hope, but our crews are working hard to get these roads in top shape before paving must conclude by mid-November.

Promotions. We’ve promoted a trio of public works employees to new positions within our public works department to support our staff. Keith Massengale and Devin Field have been promoted as crew leaders and Kevin Grierson has been elevated to mechanic. Kevin, Keith, Devin, and all of our public works employees have been working quite hard this summer to address the planned work to prepare for paving but also to respond to concerns and requests from our residents

Harbor

Events. There are still two more events planned for the Summer Concert series. Truth About Daisies with Mehuman on September 3 and Pine Tree Flyers with Springtide on September 17. As always, keep an eye on the Harbor’s Facebook page for any weather issues. Food trucks open at 4pm and the music starts at 5 p.m., so let us keep summer rolling through these next two events next month!

Recreation Committee

Marge Jones Field. A new irrigation pump system with timers was installed with two new spickets, one in the concession building and one at the softball field. Huge thanks to Tom Farley for all his help. We have also paved a portion of the entrance to help with some of the potholes.

If you want to schedule the use of a field for next year, email rockportrec@rockportmaine.gov.

Wastewater

Maine Water Assistance Program. Is a federally funded program to help support eligible households in having access to drinking water and wastewater utility services. Households will be required to have water liability to be eligible for the drinking water/wastewater program. To receive an application, you can call 888-623-6762 or email water@mainehousing.org.

Rockport Resource Newsletter

If you would like to receive the Rockport Resource Newsletter via email you can sign up through our website. A new edition of the newsletter will be sent out in early October so if you are not yet on the list, now is the time!

Civic Ready

We encourage all residents to sign up for this, if you are interested in knowing what is happening in the Town of Rockport. What is great about this system is that you decide which types of information you receive whether it is a reminder when property taxes are due to information on an upcoming event at the Opera House or when a public works project is happening in your neighborhood; Civic Alert can keep you informed. Those interested can also sign up for alerts on our website at https://rockportmaine.gov/civicready

Employment Opportunities

We have several job openings with the Town of Rockport, stop by the Town Office for an application or call and we can email you an application. Also, job applications are available on our town website, along with a detailed job description. https://rockportmaine.gov/jobs

All applications will be accepted until the positions are filled. The Town of Rockport is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

• Patrol Officer - The patrol position is a responsible and professional position. Patrol duties vary from carrying out general patrol to responding to crises calls that protect the lives of the citizens of Rockport. Patrol Officers are expected to be familiar with the State laws and Town Ordinances.

• Planning and Codes – Office Assistant – This position serves as the Office Assistant to the Planning & Development Office. The position requires a person capable of managing multiple tasks and one that is well organized. The job requires a person who pays attention to detail, can work in a varied work environment, can process payments and handle cash and receipt, and deals well with the public. This position will be the primary point of contact for incoming phone calls and walk-in traffic for the Town office. Clerical skills, managing multiple ongoing tasks, communication skills (written and oral), ability to learn code enforcement and land use knowledge, a strong computer skill set, and a positive attitude are requirements of the job.
  
  
• Public Works - Truck Driver/Equipment Operator/Laborer - This position involves manual work in road construction, repair, and maintenance, snow and ice removal, and other seasonal public works projects. A CDL is preferred. This is a full-time year-round position for an anticipated opening in the spring.