Like a schoolyard bully, the state just keeps picking on the smallest kids on the playground.
We have to wonder what state officials are thinking, or why they are not thinking when they pass some sort of feel good and/or good intentioned legislation that actually creates an onerous burden on the public they are supposed to serve.
Every year when our legislators convene in Augusta, they engage in a policy wonk orgy of rule making.
Enough already.
We have too many rules as it is and we certainly don’t need more. If anything we need less. At the very least we could use some refinement on the regulations we have.
Example number one this week is our story on the public hearing in Nobleboro last week on the topic of updating the state’s shoreland zoning maps. The town officials have little choice. They had to stand there and tell their constituents they either follow the state mandate or the state will follow it for them. A choice between nothing or none is no choice at all.
We are all for protecting the environment. There is a bona fide, tangible upside to protecting the environment, both cultural and economic. Just ask a fisherman or a clam digger how much clean water matters. Also, since we are America’s self proclaimed Vacationland, it is in our best interest to present an attractive destination for city dwelling visitors from away.
However, in the case of the new shoreland zoning maps, the state adopted rules that significantly limit a landowner’s options and potentially cuts the market value of a property with no corresponding compensation to the town for the loss of tax revenue. It’s unfair in a tax system already tilted heavily against property owners to begin with.
In effect it is a taking of land by eminent domain and yet again the state has weaseled its way out of paying its fair share. The right thing to do is to either provide the appropriate tax break for affected landowners or buy the properties in question outright, neither of which is on the table.
Our Nobleboro story is accompanied by another regarding the March 9 Wiscasset selectmen’s meeting outlining the local impact of the state’s new building codes. Again building codes and safety are good. Adopting rules because they feel good is bad. There is a real world impact to these regulations that no one in Augusta appears to consider when they are in session.
At one time, our forefathers fought a war over the principle of taxation without representation. Right now, we feel comfortable asserting we are not getting enough good representation for the good money we are paying.
