There will be zero tolerance for any boaters in town not in the state database for excise taxes, according to Marion Harbormaster Adam Murphy, who delivered this message to the Marion Marine Resources Commission on November 19 at the Maritime Conference Center.
“We need to do a better job, and we need to send a letter to the boatyards to get the information,” Murphy said. “If (information is) not available, no mooring.”
Murphy said that private boatyards and yacht clubs have the ability to enter customer information into a database for officials to track. He said some have been resistant to the request, but the town has to enforce it or consider canceling the mooring permit.
“This is a huge problem we have had year after year,” he said.
Later on at the November 19 meeting, one MRC member asked about how MRC staff members enforce stickers with no boat permits. He said there are not enough MRC staff members to police it, with sometimes 200 or more boats in the Marion harbor.
Murphy said that accurate information in the database would be a better defense against it. He estimates that the town is only collecting revenue for half the moorings in use.
In other business, Murphy said he is reaching out to the database company for guidance on fees and other financial issues that will help the MRC establish a budget for next fiscal year.
As discussed at previous meetings this year, the MRC has an ongoing request for a proposal for a formal harbor management plan, requesting the work of a consultant. Late last year, Marion was one of 10 in the state to receive grant funding for such a plan, learning the town would receive $150,000 toward creating regulations more compliant with the times to promote ecotourism as well as tackle environmental and other issues within a harbor management plan.
The grant was a part of a $3,200,000 state initiative to promote ecotourism in the state.
In other MRC news, Murphy said that the project to replace the floating docks at Old Landing with new ones is still ongoing. Last July, the MRC received $13,000 toward this endeavor.
The next meeting of the Marion Marine Resources Commission will be held on Wednesday, December 17, at the Marion Maritime Conference Center.
Marion Marine Resources Commission
By Jeffrey D. Wagner