[HISTORY: Adopted by the Town of Kennebunkport as indicated
in article histories. Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 4-25-1996]
This article is adopted pursuant to authority granted by 33
M.R.S.A. § 593, Subsection 4, and 30-A M.R.S.A. § 3001
and applies to all time-share properties in the Town of Kennebunkport.
Beginning with the 1996 tax year, the managing entity for each
time-share project shall collect and receive money from time-share
estate owners for the purpose of paying the Town of Kennebunkport
property taxes assessed on time share estates within the time-share
project.
The Tax Collector shall send the managing entity for each time-share
project a tax bill and information necessary to identify the assessed
value of each time-share unit.
Each managing entity that collects taxes under this article
shall maintain an escrow account and pay the taxes in accordance with
the provisions of 33 M.R.S.A. § 593, Subsection 5.
This article shall be effective upon its adoption by the Selectmen
of the Town of Kennebunkport, County of York and State of Maine and
shall apply to taxes assessed on and after April 1, 1996.
[Adopted 11-4-2008; amended 6-8-2010; 11-4-2014]
The purpose of this article is to provide property tax assistance
to homeowners and renters resident in the Town of Kennebunkport who
are of low or moderate income and whose property tax costs comprise
a significant portion of their total income. Under this program, the
Town of Kennebunkport will provide supplemental cash refund payments
to those individuals who qualify as Kennebunkport resident beneficiaries
of the State of Maine Property Tax Fairness Credit (PTFC) pursuant
to 36 M.R.S.A. § 5219-II and meet the criteria established
by this article. This article, including the Property Tax Assistance
Program (the "program") described herein, is authorized pursuant to
36 M.R.S.A. § 6232, as amended by P.L. 2013, c. 455 (emergency,
effective March 9, 2014).
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
A dwelling owned or rented by the person seeking tax assistance
under this article or held in a revocable living trust for the benefit
of that person. The dwelling must be occupied by that person and that
person's dependents as a home.
A person who is determined by the Town Manager, after review of a complete application under § 153-9 of this article, to be eligible for a refund payment under the terms of this article.
In order to participate in the Property Tax Assistance Program,
an applicant shall demonstrate all of the following:
A.
The applicant shall have a homestead in the Town of Kennebunkport
at the time of the application and for the entire year (365 days)
prior to the date of application.
B.
The applicant has received a credit under the provisions of 36 M.R.S.A.
§ 5219-II.
C.
The applicant has been a resident of the Town of Kennebunkport for
at least 10 years immediately preceding the date of application for
participation in the program.
Persons seeking to participate in the Property Tax Assistance
Program shall submit a written request to the Town Manager. The Town
Manager shall establish at the beginning of each year a deadline for
applications to be submitted. Applications are required every year
to participate in the program. The Town Manager shall provide an application
form for the program, which shall include, at a minimum, the applicant's
name, homestead address and contact information. All applications
shall be accompanied by the Maine State Property Tax Fairness Credit
Release of Information Consent Form to provide proof and dollar amount
of the tax credit awarded by the state pursuant to 36 M.R.S.A. § 5219-II.
The Town Manager or designee shall review and determine if the application
is complete and accurate and if the applicant is otherwise eligible
to participate in the program. The Town Manager or designee shall
notify an applicant if an application is determined to be incomplete.
The Town Manager's decision on eligibility to participate in the program
shall be final.
A.
If the Town Manager or designee determines that the applicant is
eligible to participate in the program, s/he shall determine the total
amount of such eligibility. Eligibility shall be the lesser of the
following amounts:
B.
The Town Manager shall each year report to the Board of Selectmen
prior to its first meeting in June the projected payments and number
of eligible applicants requesting assistance from the program fund.
The program fund from which payments shall be made under the
terms of this article shall be created as follows:
A.
The Board of Selectmen shall request at the Annual Town Meeting an
appropriation from the general fund or other sources to support this
program.
B.
Any surplus monies available after all payments have been made shall
be deposited into the Town's undesignated fund balance prior to July
31 of each year except as otherwise directed by Town Meeting vote.
A person who qualifies for payment under this program shall
be provided with a credit in the amount of the eligible refund towards
the balance of property taxes due or other fees/fines owed to the
Town, or shall be issued a check for the amount of refund remaining
if the property tax due has been paid in full.
A.
Payments under this article shall be conditioned upon the existence
of sufficient monies in the program fund the year in which participation
is sought. If there are not sufficient monies in the program fund
to pay fully all qualifying applicants under this article, payments
shall be limited to the amounts available in the fund, and payments
to eligible applicants shall be made on a pro rata basis. In the event
that a lack of funding results in no payment or less than the full
payment to a qualifying applicant, the request will not carry over
to the next year.
B.
Only one qualifying applicant per household shall be entitled to
payment under this program each year. The right to file an application
under this article is personal to the applicant and does not survive
the applicant's death, but the right may be exercised on behalf of
an applicant by the applicant's legal guardian or attorney-in-fact.
If an applicant dies after having filed a timely complete application
that results in a determination of qualification, the amount determined
by the Town Manager shall be disbursed to another member of the household
as determined by the Town Manager. If the applicant was the only member
of a household, then no payment shall be made under this article.
