Kennebec Valley Gas Co. wants Farmingdale (and others) to grant it tax increment financing status so it can build a natural gas pipeline from Portland to Madison.

Farmingdale should unequivocally say no!

As I understand TIFs, they are granted so a municipality can benefit from investment.

What benefit will Farmingdale receive from a KVGC TIF?

The firm has already stated it will not make natural gas available to minor (read residential) users along the route, but only to major industrial consumers, such as the state office complex and paper mills.

No long-term, permanent jobs will be created in Farmingdale by this proposed TIF.

The company’s name indicates it is a local firm, but it is headquartered in Portland.

Other than the positions created by the actual construction, there will be no opportunities for local job seekers.

New businesses will not move to the area because of the gas line passing through Farmingdale. We will not need more barbershops and convenience stores to accommodate an influx of new residents who might have relocated somewhere else except for this project.

The utility will not create the need for more restaurants and souvenir shops, because tourists will not flock here anymore than they now do to look at Central Maine Power Co.’s high voltage transmission line (which, by the way, was put in place without a TIF).

The primary beneficiary will be Kennebec Valley Gas Co., which will get to use Farmingdale for a period without paying its full share of taxes.

Farmingdale should tell KVGC it is welcome to have its pipeline pass through our town, as long as it pays its fair share of property tax.

If it cannot build the project without a TIF, perhaps it is in the wrong business or needs to find additional investors.

Bill Crowley

Farmingdale

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