FinCom Hears Good News

Another cold spring evening, another Finance Committee Meeting for Mattapoisett’s team of financial advisors; but on April 8, they also heard some warming good news.

Kathleen Costello, principal assessor, was invited by Town Administrator Michael Gagne to shed light on the PILOT (payment in lieu of taxes) program the Town has in place for the solar farm located on Tinkham Hill Road – light that brought visibility to real cash flow projections.

The PILOT program allows towns to negotiate with leaseholders to pay for personal property at a set rate versus at a tax-levied rate. The program assesses a value on the personal property situated on the land, in this case using the amount of electricity generated as part of the equation, as well as the solar array equipment itself.

Costello told the Finance Committee members that Sun Edison had agreed to a PILOT program, in spite of calculations demonstrating that by paying personal property valuations (on the solar arrays), it would be less expensive. She said that tax base uncertainties over time was not a variable businesses liked.

Corporations, said Costello, preferred the known costs versus unknown costs of conducting business and therefore had accepted a PILOT program that set the rates they would be paying for the entire length of their agreement.

The total cost of the PILOT program over the 20-year contract for the solar generation facility is $762,125, starting at $29,835 for year one and advancing up to $47,696 by year 20.

That income, Costello said, coupled with the change in land-use status of the 12-acre site from chapter lands to commercial use, also represented income to the town as well as a lump sum payment for a five-year rollback.

Gagne said that the Crystal Spring site, soon to be the second solar farm in Mattapoisett, was nearly double the electricity output of that of the Tinkham Hill site, thereby offering the town even more opportunity for financial gain in the next couple of years.

With growing financial pressure from OPEB obligations, solid waste removal costs, massive wharf repairs, and roadway and sewer projects, the prospect of bringing money into the town’s cash receipts was a positive note for the committee.

In other news, Gagne shared with FinCom members the conversation Tri-Town administrators have been having regarding the possibility of establishing a Tri-Town recreation department. Shared costs and staffing as well as programs offered between the towns may provide a greater level of service, he said.

Gagne said that at the next Board of Selectmen meeting scheduled for April 14 at 7:00 pm in the Town Hall conference room, Highway Surveyor Barry Denham, along with the Town’s engineering firm Field Engineering, would be presenting an in-depth plan for upcoming roadway repairs. He suggested that the members attend the presentation to hear firsthand the details and associated price tag.

The next meeting of the Mattapoisett Finance Committee is scheduled for April 15 at 6:00 pm in the Town Hall conference room.

By Marilou Newell

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