Dennysville residents considered the pros and cons of deorganization of the town into one of the state's 429 unorganized territories during a public meeting on Wednesday night, October 19. The town's three selectpersons -- Dawn Noonan, Violet Willis and Scott Corey -- conducted the question-and-answer session, which was attended by about a dozen citizens.
      People were concerned about the condition of the town roads, ability of citizens to pay their property taxes, and the fact that it is difficult to get anyone, especially younger people, to step up and take town offices. Another point that was brought up is the loss of tax revenue because of shoreline acreage being bought by a nonprofit entity with plans to turn the property into parkland for use by the public. Statistics on the loss of tax revenue from property purchased by Cobscook Shores were not available from the town officials at the time of the meeting.
      Handouts outlining the 12 steps in the deorganization process for a town of more than 50 residents were available at the meeting. The first step is the circulation of a petition to residents stating reasons why the town is considering deorganizing. Other steps include notifying the legislature and fiscal administrator of the unorganized territory, holding a public hearing on deorganization procedure and an advisory referendum and receiving approval by the legislature.
      Noonan stated that, in order for the initial petition to be valid, the petition must be signed by at least 50% of the voters in the last election for governor. Rick Jamieson mentioned that if there aren't enough valid signatures on the petition, the idea of deorganization is dead. The selectpersons or volunteers would probably be the ones to circulate the petition, and the state has a petition form.
      Noonan also mentioned that there are 344 people in the town, that there are 238 taxpayers, and that the average age of people in town is 44 years.
      Jamieson reminded those in attendance that Jimmy Sullivan, who was first selectman for Dennysville for over 40 years, knew how "to get things done" and was able to obtain state and federal funds to build a tennis court and a basketball court for citizen use. Ruth Chaffey was concerned that the younger generation doesn't seem to want to participate in municipal affairs, including taking town offices. Steve Cox questioned who would assume any debt, and Noonan responded that debts of a municipality have to be paid before deorganization. Bill Attick questioned why the possibility of deorganization has come up, and Noonan replied that people had asked about deorganizing.
      Information on the deorganization process can be found on the website. Some points from this site include: the deorganizing entity must surrender all records to the state archivist; any real and personal property of the municipality is held by the state tax assessor; cemetery trust funds may be transferred by the state to a cemetery association or to the county commissioners; and the fiscal administrator, who is also the chair of the State Commission on Municipal Deorganization, assists local deorganization committees in formulating procedures for deorganization. A fiscal impact assessment must be prepared that includes the tax burden impact as well as any alternatives to deorganization that have been considered. Educational services for all students in the municipality must be provided for in the deorganization procedure.
      A little over half of the State of Maine consists of land in the unorganized territories. There are about 9,000 residents who live year-round in those territories, with more residing there seasonally.