In Maine, Local Control Is a Luxury Fewer Towns Can Afford

[cpzilliacus]

Cary Plantation, the town mentioned in this article, straddles U.S. 1 and is about 12 miles south of the northernmost I-95/U.S. 1 interchange at Houlton. I have been in that part of Maine, but had never heard of Cary Plantation before.

N.Y. Times: In Maine, Local Control Is a Luxury Fewer Towns Can Afford

Up here, near the end of Interstate 95, a single main road ridged with stately conifers runs past the odd house that at night casts an orange glow over the snow. There is no school. No police department. Not even a stoplight.

But there are property taxes. And some residents say the taxes' growth has pushed this community of about 200 to the brink. To save Cary Plantation, they say, they want to dismantle it.

"What do you do, what does the town do, when they can't pay their bills? Do we go bankrupt? Do we lose our homes?"  asked Diane Cassidy, a former nursing assistant. "There was no answer, other than deorganization."

Ms. Cassidy is leading an effort to dissolve the local government and join the Unorganized Territory, a vast swath of forest and townships in north, central and eastern Maine run by a partnership between the state and the counties. Last month, residents here voted, 64 to 0, to continue the process.

[jwolfer]

Cary Plantation, the town mentioned in this article, straddles U.S. 1 and is about 12 miles south of the northernmost I-95/U.S. 1 interchange at Houlton. I have been in that part of Maine, but had never heard of Cary Plantation before.

N.Y. Times: In Maine, Local Control Is a Luxury Fewer Towns Can Afford

Up here, near the end of Interstate 95, a single main road ridged with stately conifers runs past the odd house that at night casts an orange glow over the snow. There is no school. No police department. Not even a stoplight.

But there are property taxes. And some residents say the taxes' growth has pushed this community of about 200 to the brink. To save Cary Plantation, they say, they want to dismantle it.

"What do you do, what does the town do, when they can't pay their bills? Do we go bankrupt? Do we lose our homes?"  asked Diane Cassidy, a former nursing assistant. "There was no answer, other than deorganization."

Ms. Cassidy is leading an effort to dissolve the local government and join the Unorganized Territory, a vast swath of forest and townships in north, central and eastern Maine run by a partnership between the state and the counties. Last month, residents here voted, 64 to 0, to continue the process.

I was thinking about this today. I got a speeding ticket on US 301 in Sellers, SC. Not much there, but it seems they make money from tickets.

There are lots of small incorporated towns in north Florida that I can see no reason for exisiting when they have no police force, no fire department they get services from the county just like unincorporated areas . people there just pay extra taxes

[cl94]

Cary Plantation, the town mentioned in this article, straddles U.S. 1 and is about 12 miles south of the northernmost I-95/U.S. 1 interchange at Houlton. I have been in that part of Maine, but had never heard of Cary Plantation before.

N.Y. Times: In Maine, Local Control Is a Luxury Fewer Towns Can Afford

Up here, near the end of Interstate 95, a single main road ridged with stately conifers runs past the odd house that at night casts an orange glow over the snow. There is no school. No police department. Not even a stoplight.

But there are property taxes. And some residents say the taxes' growth has pushed this community of about 200 to the brink. To save Cary Plantation, they say, they want to dismantle it.

"What do you do, what does the town do, when they can't pay their bills? Do we go bankrupt? Do we lose our homes?"  asked Diane Cassidy, a former nursing assistant. "There was no answer, other than deorganization."

Ms. Cassidy is leading an effort to dissolve the local government and join the Unorganized Territory, a vast swath of forest and townships in north, central and eastern Maine run by a partnership between the state and the counties. Last month, residents here voted, 64 to 0, to continue the process.

I was thinking about this today. I got a speeding ticket on US 301 in Sellers, SC. Not much there, but it seems they make money from tickets.

There are lots of small incorporated towns in north Florida that I can see no reason for exisiting when they have no police force, no fire department they get services from the county just like unincorporated areas . people there just pay extra taxes

Maine is an oddity in the northeast because the other five New England states and New York give a lot to the towns, with there being no "unincorporated" area whatsoever. Yes, counties often have police forces and provide some services, but the towns have a lot of control. Maine has the issue of having no people in a vast majority of the state. Having been to that part of Maine, I know there is nothing there. The County is the size of Connecticut and Rhode Island combined and it has the population density of the Dakotas. Piscataquis County has a smaller population density than any Eastern county except Hamilton County, New York. When it gets to that point, is there really any reason to have a local government?

[cpzilliacus]

The County is the size of Connecticut and Rhode Island combined and it has the population density of the Dakotas. Piscataquis County has a smaller population density than any Eastern county except Hamilton County, New York. When it gets to that point, is there really any reason to have a local government?

If you had asked me where the lowest population density in Maine could be found, I would have assumed the answer would be Aroostook County (in part because without consulting a map, I assumed that Baxter State Park was in Aroostook County, not  Piscataquis).  But in relative terms, Aroostook is a population giant when compared to Piscataquis.

[cl94]

The County is the size of Connecticut and Rhode Island combined and it has the population density of the Dakotas. Piscataquis County has a smaller population density than any Eastern county except Hamilton County, New York. When it gets to that point, is there really any reason to have a local government?

If you had asked me where the lowest population density in Maine could be found, I would have assumed the answer would be Aroostook County (in part because without consulting a map, I assumed that Baxter State Park was in Aroostook County, not  Piscataquis).  But in relative terms, Aroostook is a population giant when compared to Piscataquis.

Aroostook has a very high density of 11/square mile. Piscataquis is a little under 5. I was a bit shocked myself. Of course, Hamilton County is at 2.8, located entirely within Adirondack Park and containing zero permanent traffic lights.

[slorydn1]

Cary Plantation, the town mentioned in this article, straddles U.S. 1 and is about 12 miles south of the northernmost I-95/U.S. 1 interchange at Houlton. I have been in that part of Maine, but had never heard of Cary Plantation before.

N.Y. Times: In Maine, Local Control Is a Luxury Fewer Towns Can Afford

Up here, near the end of Interstate 95, a single main road ridged with stately conifers runs past the odd house that at night casts an orange glow over the snow. There is no school. No police department. Not even a stoplight.

But there are property taxes. And some residents say the taxes' growth has pushed this community of about 200 to the brink. To save Cary Plantation, they say, they want to dismantle it.

"What do you do, what does the town do, when they can't pay their bills? Do we go bankrupt? Do we lose our homes?"  asked Diane Cassidy, a former nursing assistant. "There was no answer, other than deorganization."

Ms. Cassidy is leading an effort to dissolve the local government and join the Unorganized Territory, a vast swath of forest and townships in north, central and eastern Maine run by a partnership between the state and the counties. Last month, residents here voted, 64 to 0, to continue the process.

I was thinking about this today. I got a speeding ticket on US 301 in Sellers, SC. Not much there, but it seems they make money from tickets.

There are lots of small incorporated towns in north Florida that I can see no reason for exisiting when they have no police force, no fire department they get services from the county just like unincorporated areas . people there just pay extra taxes

Maine is an oddity in the northeast because the other five New England states and New York give a lot to the towns, with there being no "unincorporated" area whatsoever. Yes, counties often have police forces and provide some services, but the towns have a lot of control. Maine has the issue of having no people in a vast majority of the state. Having been to that part of Maine, I know there is nothing there. The County is the size of Connecticut and Rhode Island combined and it has the population density of the Dakotas. Piscataquis County has a smaller population density than any Eastern county except Hamilton County, New York. When it gets to that point, is there really any reason to have a local government?

Actually, as counter-intuitive as it sounds, yes there is.


We have situations in here in NC where a group of citizens in an unincorporated area of a county may decide to incorporate for no other reason but to deny the large(er) city/town next door the opportunity to annex them. Often times said annexation would all of a sudden expose them to more restrictive land use ordinances, leash laws, gun laws (etc.)  than what they were enjoying while living in an unincorporated area of a county, while paying extra taxes just to be told what they had been doing on their own land all of their lives is no longer acceptable because of ordinances on the books in the city/town that might annex them.


They form their own town, with a tiny government and no services, continue to be patrolled by the county sheriff's department, and have whatever volunteer fire/EMS coverage for their other public safety needs, with little or no extra tax burden to the citizens. Its a win/win for them, and really doesn't change much of anything from the county's point of view.

[vdeane]

And that right there is why I think that it should be illegal for cities to unilaterally annex areas.

[cl94]

Cary Plantation, the town mentioned in this article, straddles U.S. 1 and is about 12 miles south of the northernmost I-95/U.S. 1 interchange at Houlton. I have been in that part of Maine, but had never heard of Cary Plantation before.

N.Y. Times: In Maine, Local Control Is a Luxury Fewer Towns Can Afford

Up here, near the end of Interstate 95, a single main road ridged with stately conifers runs past the odd house that at night casts an orange glow over the snow. There is no school. No police department. Not even a stoplight.

But there are property taxes. And some residents say the taxes' growth has pushed this community of about 200 to the brink. To save Cary Plantation, they say, they want to dismantle it.

"What do you do, what does the town do, when they can't pay their bills? Do we go bankrupt? Do we lose our homes?"  asked Diane Cassidy, a former nursing assistant. "There was no answer, other than deorganization."

Ms. Cassidy is leading an effort to dissolve the local government and join the Unorganized Territory, a vast swath of forest and townships in north, central and eastern Maine run by a partnership between the state and the counties. Last month, residents here voted, 64 to 0, to continue the process.

I was thinking about this today. I got a speeding ticket on US 301 in Sellers, SC. Not much there, but it seems they make money from tickets.

There are lots of small incorporated towns in north Florida that I can see no reason for exisiting when they have no police force, no fire department they get services from the county just like unincorporated areas . people there just pay extra taxes

Maine is an oddity in the northeast because the other five New England states and New York give a lot to the towns, with there being no "unincorporated" area whatsoever. Yes, counties often have police forces and provide some services, but the towns have a lot of control. Maine has the issue of having no people in a vast majority of the state. Having been to that part of Maine, I know there is nothing there. The County is the size of Connecticut and Rhode Island combined and it has the population density of the Dakotas. Piscataquis County has a smaller population density than any Eastern county except Hamilton County, New York. When it gets to that point, is there really any reason to have a local government?

Actually, as counter-intuitive as it sounds, yes there is.


We have situations in here in NC where a group of citizens in an unincorporated area of a county may decide to incorporate for no other reason but to deny the large(er) city/town next door the opportunity to annex them. Often times said annexation would all of a sudden expose them to more restrictive land use ordinances, leash laws, gun laws (etc.)  than what they were enjoying while living in an unincorporated area of a county, while paying extra taxes just to be told what they had been doing on their own land all of their lives is no longer acceptable because of ordinances on the books in the city/town that might annex them.


They form their own town, with a tiny government and no services, continue to be patrolled by the county sheriff's department, and have whatever volunteer fire/EMS coverage for their other public safety needs, with little or no extra tax burden to the citizens. Its a win/win for them, and really doesn't change much of anything from the county's point of view.

The difference is that, in these parts of Maine, there is no city to annex the area. Northeastern states don't allow annexing like much of the country does.

[The Nature Boy]

I don't know if it's even possible to annex under Maine law.

Maine has some interesting challenges ahead of it. It's a rural state that is seeing its younger population leave. For the first time in its history, it has been surpassed by New Hampshire in population. That actually made the local news. Maine may be a part of the Northeast but it really is in its own corner of the country and even as far south as Augusta can feel pretty isolating.

This is probably going to be more and more common in Maine and I wouldn't be surprised to see this creep south of Bangor. My prediction is that within 25 years, Aroostook County will have few incorporated municipalities.

[mariethefoxy]

I was thinking about this today. I got a speeding ticket on US 301 in Sellers, SC. Not much there, but it seems they make money from tickets.

thats like most of US 13 in Southern Delaware.

[hm insulators]

[/quote]


Actually, as counter-intuitive as it sounds, yes there is.


We have situations in here in NC where a group of citizens in an unincorporated area of a county may decide to incorporate for no other reason but to deny the large(er) city/town next door the opportunity to annex them. Often times said annexation would all of a sudden expose them to more restrictive land use ordinances, leash laws, gun laws (etc.)  than what they were enjoying while living in an unincorporated area of a county, while paying extra taxes just to be told what they had been doing on their own land all of their lives is no longer acceptable because of ordinances on the books in the city/town that might annex them.


They form their own town, with a tiny government and no services, continue to be patrolled by the county sheriff's department, and have whatever volunteer fire/EMS coverage for their other public safety needs, with little or no extra tax burden to the citizens. Its a win/win for them, and really doesn't change much of anything from the county's point of view.
[/quote]

Forty years ago, a similar situation was faced by residents of La Canada Flintridge, the foothill suburb of Los Angeles where I grew up. Both Pasadena and Glendale had ideas toward annexing the community and voters decided in 1976 to incorporate.