Beach, dog issue to go to public vote

It took two months for South Portland resident Gary Crosby to collect more than 1,000 signatures from residents who believe Willard Beach should be dog-free in the summer months. 

“That told us, OK, this makes sense,” Crosby said. “This has gone on for so long, all the people really feel it would be best for the people to decide on this and it not rest on the shoulders of the council.”

On Monday, the city council unanimously supported forwarding Crosby’s proposal to ban dogs from Willard Beach during the summer to the referendum in November. 

“I couldn’t be happier,” Councilor Linda Boudreau said of the referendum question. “This is our one way to get a decisive and final say on this.”

Currently, dogs are allowed on Willard Beach between the hours of 6 a.m. and 9 p.m. from Sept. 30 to May 1. In the summer, dogs are allowed on the beach between 7 a.m. and 9 a.m. and 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. If Crosby’s proposal passes in the referendum, dogs will not be allowed on the beach between from April 15 to October 15.

Read that bill

Last April, City Councilor Jim Soule said his property value for taxes was above what he could sell it for. This year, he’s hoping to save some money on his tax bill. 

“I’m really happy,” he said during a council workshop on Monday. “This has been a long time coming.” 

Soule’s savings is the result of a city-wide revision of property tax assessments City Assessor Elizabeth Sawyer said the revaluation was triggered by declining market values. During the past year, Sawyer said the city assessor has looked at individual properties and how they have been affected by the changes in the housing market and “adjusted accordingly.”

“We’ve been combing through the numbers pretty heavily,” she said.

On average, Sawyer said most homeowners will see a 5 percent decrease in their tax valuations. The decline does not mean a lower tax bill for everyone, however, as it will most likely be offset by a slight increase in the tax rate, Sawyer said. 

“Most homeowners will see very little change in their bills,” she said. 

What could change is the amount of funding the city receives from the state. A city’s overall value is considered when deciding how much state aid a municipality can receive, and Soule said he is hopeful the decline in South Portland’s valuation could result in additional state funding come budget season next year. 

South Portland Finance Director Greg L’Heureux said the city may receive the same amount of state funding, however, since the rest of the state is also seeing a decline in property values and reacting accordingly. Sawyer said Westbrook was going through a similar process and was expected to decrease its valuation by 10 percent – twice the revision to South Portland.

Sawyer said the “final numbers” for individual homeowners would be available on the city Web site in the next few months. Once online, homeowners will be able to compare their property tax bills prior to the revaluation to after the revision, she said.