On tap for 2015: taxes, infrastructure and the new high school Citys leaders outline Sanfords priorities for the new year By Chris Hull Sanford News Contributor Thursday, January 1, 2015 SANFORD — The new year is a time for goal-setting, and Sanford’s leaders are focused on a number of priorities for the city for 2015, with the new high school, economic development and taxes rising to the top of their lists. For Mayor Thomas P. Cote, a top priority in 2015 will be “addressing the disproportionate burden of property taxation.” Cote said he sees broadening Sanford’s tax base as well as promoting and enabling construction and decreasing expenditures as ways to meet this goal. Cote also said he wants to “take steps to improve the demographic mix (in Sanford).” Economic development is also in Cote’s sights, as he wants to “make ourselves more agile to react to the needs of those who want to do business in Sanford.” Cote added that he wants to see more retail and industrial opportunities in Sanford as well as expanded Broadband service and the natural gas pipeline. “We want to compete effectively with other communities. If we don’t have Broadband and the natural gas pipeline, we’re limited to who we can attract,” he said. Deputy Mayor Maura A. Herlihy concurred that taxation is a priority. She said that the city needs to keep property taxes low and “preserve income for people who live in the state.” Herlihy identified the upcoming Jan. 13 referendum, in which voters will decide the fate of the proposed new Sanford High School and technical center, as a priority because she feels education relates to improved employment opportunities. Infrastructure — specifically, improved roads — is high on Herlihy’s list of priorities for Sanford in 2015, as well. “Cars are getting killed on the roads,” she said. Herlihy added that she would also like to see improved housing opportunities in Sanford with existing properties being fixed up and market rate apartments coming into the community. Looking ahead to the new year, City Councilor Joseph R. Hanslip said, “My most important goal is to do what I can to help ensure that the high school referendum passes next month.” Hanslip said he wants the city to continue to work with the Sanford Regional Economic Growth Council and the chamber of commerce to improve economic development. Hanslip added that he aims to “keep taxes stable and also continue to work on infrastructure, especially roads.” “I’d love to say taxes will go down,” Hanslip said, “but I don’t think that’s likely.” For fellow Councilor Fred Smith, identifying improved communication in the city is a priority in 2015. “Defining and taking ownership of our problems” is a top priority, according to Smith. “We (city councilors) need to educate the public on these problems,” he said. Using the back of tax bills as a platform to communicate with taxpayers about municipal costs is one possibility Smith is considering. “If people know the facts, they have a better understanding of where you are coming from,” Smith said. “I’d like to have a maximum one-percent tax increase every year for the next five years.” Like many of his fellow city councilors, Smith said he sees property maintenance as a priority. “You have got to have people take pride in their community,” he said. Newly elected City Councilor Victor DiGregorio said he wants to aim to improve communication between the public and the council. To that end, DiGregorio has established a telephone hot line (324-1115) that residents can use to share their thoughts with him; he will then relay these public comments to the city council. DiGregorio wants to “act as a catalyst for communication.” More broadly, DiGregorio wants to see the city council and its constituents “sharing, caring, and doing.” Attempts to reach City Councilors Alan Walsh and Richard Wilkins for their contributions to this story were unsuccessful. Kendra Williams, chair of the Sanford School Committee, shares city councilors’ focus on taxation when it comes to looking ahead to 2015. “We (the school committee) really understand the local tax burden,” she said. “There’s not much more local taxpayers can endure.” Williams said she sees the five new local preschool classes, which will start in September, curriculum development, the proposed new high school, a new elementary school, absenteeism, and teacher evaluation as priorities for the coming year. Echoing a common theme, Jim Nimon, the executive director of the Sanford Regional Economic Growth Council, said that the Jan. 13 referendum for the proposed new high school is “huge for the community.” “Public schools matter greatly to economic growth,” Nimon noted in the growth council’s December newsletter. “The literature indicates a direct connection between quality schools and rising home values. A new school is also symbolic because it signals to others not yet here that something positive is happening in Sanford and our community ought to be investigated further as a place to live, work and raise a family.” Nimon also identified tourism, economic expansion, a new hospital, and infrastructure as priorities for Sanford in 2015. Mayor Cote summed up Sanford’s main goal for 2015. “We need to take control of our own destiny in Sanford,” Mayor Cote said. “2015 will be a results-driven year.”
Posted on: Sat, 03 Jan 2015 14:03:40 +0000
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