Outraged in Osborn
The Ellsworth American | September 22, 2017 | www.ellsworthamerican.com
As a camp owner and taxpayer to the town of Osborn, I am sickened to hear today that more windmills have been approved. Back in February of 2015, The Ellsworth American reported that Osborn approved a new wind farm. In the story, the project coordinator for Sun Edison, Charlie Baldwin, states “one tangible benefit pond owners and other Osborn residents will see is a sharp drop in their property taxes … Because Weaver Wind will represent a huge increase in the valuation in Osborn without requiring a corresponding increase in town services, it is projected to drop a tax rate from a current level of 10.8 to 2.7 – a decrease of 75 percent.” As a taxpayer to Osborn, I can tell you that our tax bill has only gone up. We have not seen even the slightest decrease.
The story also states that a “$500,000 lump sum payment” would go to an energy conservation fund and further states “That money would be divvied up among property owners in town for use on projects such as installing solar panels, replacing old windows or anything else under the broad umbrella of energy conservation and efficiency.” I am unable to confirm with the town of Osborn if these funds are available.
The town of Osborn provides very little, if any, town services; no fire department, no police department, no school, etc. Where has all this money gone? Why does my tax bill continue to rise? Are there any other Osborn taxpayers out there who have actually seen a reduced tax bill? Are there any Osborn taxpayers who have access to the money that was supposedly to be “divvied up” among the taxpayers?
Parrie Willette
Osborn
URL to article: https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2017/09/23/outraged-in-osborn/