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TIF committee recommends removing loan option; commissioners approve $28,112 grant to Patten Ambulance without CPI cap
Summary
The county's TIF (economic development) committee recommended several policy changes including removing loans from the application process; commissioners on July 23 approved a $28,112 grant to Patten Ambulance and removed a previously proposed three-year CPI restriction on the related contract.
The Penobscot County TIF (tax-increment financing) committee presented policy recommendations to commissioners on July 23 and asked the commission to consider changes to how TIF funds are administered. Among the committee's key recommendations were:
- Continue allowing TIF funds to be used countywide, including organized towns, consistent with counsel's legal opinion. - Remove loan products from the application process and focus on grants (the committee recommended not offering loans to for-profit or nonprofit applicants). - Avoid setting a fixed maximum annual payout; instead, evaluate requests case-by-case. - Do not provide 100% funding in most cases; require applicants to show other sources or a financial plan.
Committee members said loans would require consumer-protection, privacy and loan-administration capabilities the county does not currently have; legal review supported that view.
Separately, the commission considered a specific Patten Ambulance request. The TIF committee had recommended paying 60% of the requested purchase ($28,112) with a caveat that the ambulance service cap contract include a CPI-based increase limit for three years; Patten Ambulance declined the CPI-limited offer because it could not ensure it could operate within that cap while it reviews future operating costs. Commissioners voted to approve the $28,112 payment without the three-year CPI cap so Patten Ambulance can proceed with ordering the vehicle.
Ending: Commissioners asked the TIF committee and staff to update the application materials to remove loan language, add clearer statements that 100% funding is unlikely, and return with proposed contract language and legal review for situations where the county requires recourse or retention provisions for purchased equipment.
