Sheriff cancels contract
ELLSWORTH Hancock County Jail inmates this past spring lost access to a recovery coaching service provided by Healthy Acadia after Sheriff Scott Kane canceled the contract due to what he described as “philosophical differences” with the organization.
Kane canceled the contract after Healthy Acadia issued a June 10 statement in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.
“That decision was made in the height of the rioting and the looting and the burning that Black Lives Matter was associated with,” Kane said. “This is something that came up nine months ago. Why did this take nine months to come up? My responsibility as a police officer is to keep people safe. Those types of protests, when they turn violent, nobody’s safe.”
Commissioners weigh pot sales
ELLSWORTH The Hancock County Commissioners met with Maine officials Tuesday to find out more information about “opting in” to allow commercial marijuana enterprises in the unorganized territories. The discussion took place via the online meeting platform Zoom.
There was no resolution reached and no action was taken.
However, Commissioner John Wombacher chided his fellow board members about their attitude regarding marijuana-related commercial activity in the territories.
Both Commissioner Bill Clark and Commissioner Paul Paradis had said previously they would not support “adult use” marijuana operations in the unorganized territories.
Wombacher reminded the board that it has spent time in the past year working on economic development in the unorganized territories.
Sullivan selectmen deny another abatement request
SULLIVAN The Board of Selectmen Monday unanimously denied another abatement request at its regularly scheduled meeting. Henry Whitmore Jr. and Debra Whitmore requested that their property located along Route 1 be granted a property tax abatement, arguing that the property was unequally assessed, and that the assessment should reflect the market value.
Selectman Roger Wakefield explained the property’s assessed value is $264,000, but the couple purchased the property for $164,000. “[The Whitmores want] us to change the valuation based on the sale price. Doesn’t work that way,” Wakefield said.
As previously reported in The American, the board denied last June an abatement request by Deb and James Knowlton, who requested a change in their property tax assessment due to the approximately $340,000 disparity between their Route 1 property’s assessed value and its fair market appraisal.
Commissioners authorize additional sick leave
12/30/20 6:37 AM
GREENFIELD The Hancock County Commissioners have authorized additional sick days for county employees who need to quarantine after developing symptoms of COVID-19 or being identified as a close contact of someone who has tested positive.
All full-time county employees will qualify for 10 days total of this COVID-19 leave in 2021, which they can use for one event during the year. If they need to quarantine again after that, they will need to use their regular sick days or vacation days.
Emergency paid sick leave authorized by the federal government is set to expire on Dec. 31.
Alleging unfair valuation, Sullivan homeowners sue
By Rebecca Alley and Jennifer Osborn
SULLIVAN The Hancock County Commissioners were served notice last week that Sullivan property owners Deb and James Knowlton have filed suit in Hancock County Superior Court seeking property tax relief.
The suit comes after commissioners on Nov. 3 denied a property tax abatement request for a Sullivan property the Knowltons purchased in June 2019.
While the commissioners indicated that they agreed that the property was assessed too highly for tax purposes, they said neighboring properties were assessed similarly.
The couple’s property assessment was “grossly wrong but it wasn’t unfair,” Chairman Bill Clark said. “Everybody else’s was grossly over assessed.”