AUGUSTA, Maine — The battle over whether the state should borrow money to fund projects, especially community development work, has escalated in recent days.
Rep. Jeff McCabe, D-Skowhegan, fired the latest salvo in the skirmish between legislative Democrats and Gov. Paul LePage over his decision to delay authorizing voter-approved bonds until at least January 2014.
In a letter to LePage on Tuesday, the two-term lawmaker asked why Livermore Falls, one of 11 municipalities that last year won approval for $3.5 million in downtown development grants, appeared to receive the governor’s assistance in moving forward with its project while other communities, including Skowhegan, did not.
“It just doesn’t make sense,” McCabe said in a release issued by the Maine House Democratic Office. “The governor is willing to help Livermore Falls, but he’s leaving the rest of us in the dark. All I want to know is how Livermore Falls got help and what we need to do to get the same support.”
Adrienne Bennett, the governor’s press secretary, told the Bangor Daily News on Wednesday that, contrary to McCabe’s assertion, no voter-approved state funding was used to advance the Livermore Falls project. Based on a commitment from LePage that bond money for the project would be released when the governor believes the state’s fiscal situation has improved, Kevin Bunker, the lead developer of the project, secured a loan to move ahead with planning and construction, she said.
The governor continues to encourage municipal officials and developers involved with the projects to seek “other creative ways to find funds,” she said. “Livermore Falls was the first community to think outside the box” in ways that “do not make the taxpayer the bank.”
After being convinced that the Livermore Falls project would provide taxpayers with a good “return on their investment,” according to Bennett, LePage on July 16 sent a letter to State Treasurer Bruce Poliquin affirming his commitment to sell $400,000 from the bond package approved by voters in June 2010 “on or before June 15, 2015” to support the Livermore Falls project.
Three other eligible communities — Eastport, Dover-Foxcroft and Monmouth — secured Community Development Block Grants for their projects, according to Doug Ray, a spokesman for the Maine Department of Economic and Community Development. All three “had signed contracts that were well underway” and all three projects fit CDBG guidelines, Ray said Wednesday.
Eastport received $190,000, Monmouth received $157,641 and Dover-Foxcroft garnered $140,000, according to Ray.
In June 2010, Maine voters approved a bond package that included funding to create the Communities for Maine’s Future Program, which replaced the Maine Investment Fund . In March 2011, the Maine Department of Economic and Community Development, which manages Communities for Maine’s Future, put out a request for applications to tap $3.5 million for downtown revitalization projects.
From 32 applicants, the DECD chose 11: Bath, Belfast, Dover-Foxcroft, Eastport, Livermore Falls, Monmouth, Norway, Rockland, Skowhegan, Unity and Winthrop.
In June of this year, LePage informed state agencies and cabinet members that he would not sell bonds until at least January 2014.
On July 12 and again on July 24, McCabe wrote to LePage urging him to authorize funding for the downtown development projects. In Tuesday’s release, he noted that Skowhegan had signed contracts with the DECD and spent approximately $40,000 on downtown revitalization.
In a July 27 response to McCabe, LePage wrote, “I do intend to sell the bonds before they expire in 2015 for projects that provide a return to the Maine taxpayer. And because I am a businessman and not a politician like you, I measure those returns by new, permanent, full-time jobs and increased revenues for the state of Maine.”
After reading in the Livermore Falls Advertiser that Portland-based Developers Collaborative, in partnership with the town and DECD, was moving forward with plans to renovate the Lamb Block building on Depot Street in Livermore Falls, McCabe wrote a third letter to LePage on Tuesday. He asked the governor to explain how Livermore Falls got “fast tracked” and for a timeline as to when Skowhegan could expect funding.
McCabe said Wednesday that John Butera from the governor’s office had contacted him to say he planned to arrange a meeting with Skowhegan officials.
McCabe said his goal in writing to the governor was to ensure that “each project is treated objectively and openly.”
“Each town is in a similar situation and should be treated the same way,” he said.
….”
LePage said “no bond money” but now he is effectively saying “some bond money sometimes when I see fit.”
This is erratic and we can’t trust his word. And we are to believe that his politics and personal quirks won’t get in the way of fairness?
Sounds more like rewarding good behavior.
In his eyes only.
Only his? Maybe it’s time town governments are held responsible for their spending? Maybe it will force towns to make smart choices? Perhaps it will change town’s minds about discouraging businesses?
Look. It’s quite simple. The voters approved the issuance of bonds. In other words, the highest authority of government, the people, directed the government to issue those bonds.
After considering competing proposals with a variety of criteria, one of which was job creation, the DECD determined which proposals would receive funding and in what amount.
The town share of any project was approved by the citizenry (at town meeting) or the town council (elected by the citizens).
I fail to see how local decisions about spending funds affects the governor’s denial of funds that have already been allocated to towns which have already decided what share they’re willing to pitch in.
Mr. LePage’s actions are an affront to democracy.
He is rationing the money out to Rebub neighborhoods! Would you expect anything less from him? He obviously has no use for democracy. Facist would fit him better.
Yah, you’re probably right. But I have to admire a guy (LePage) who tried to protect Maine voters from themselves. Look where it’s gotten them so far.
If the America Haiting Barack Hussen Nobama was overriding the will of the people to pick and choose who recieved funding, the conservatives on this site would go nuts. But since its ya boy doing it, it’s totally fine.
Actually, I insist that the state throttle money like this. Is he giving the money only to other Rs? Relatives (and here come the “his daughter has a state job” folks)?
What does she do, anyway?
She sends anonymous FAXs whenever the Guv needs one to “justify” doing what he was going to do anyway.
Oh! Now I understand. I think I saw “Fax Sender” in the list of jobs on Dept of Labor website.
So she was the one who sent the anonymous fax about the mural!
So you’re in favor of the federal government putting a choke chain on the states?
That is how government works? I always wondered what they meant by “nanny state”. Stupid civics class…..
Good behavior? More like blackmail…which is illegal, even if LePew is governor.
The Guy Thinks That He Was Elected CEO of Maine!
We count on this administration for unbiased, competent accounting? They really know ROE when they see it?
It’s his money to decide who gets to play and who doesn’t. Get over it. What can you do about it, anyway.
Actually, it’s not his money, unless you think he is bankrolling all of the bonds himself.
Not his money.
I didn’t realize we had some bond questions that said “Do you allow Paul LePage to borrow money in the name of the state of Maine for his own pocket?” Pretty sure my ballots didn’t say anything about that and if it did, I clearly got a bad ballot and I demand a recall.
We need to re-write our seperations of power in Maine. This power on either side should not be within the preview of the Governor’s office. These bonds were passed by the legislature and the people of Maine. They were promised to the towns and they made plans based on them.
Legally he will need to issue this money at some point.
How is delaying helpful?
It is already a liability owed by the State whether the Governor wants to pretend it isn’t until he “gives” them to the towns.
Guaranteed and bonded by the State.
Do you think everytown should be able to bond as much as they want without oversight, where if the town defaulted the towns could be owned including everyones property by the bond holder.
What? Your statement has implications that don’t make any sense.
These bonds were passed by the Legislature and Populous vote. Not by towns willy nilly begging for loans.
They are a done deal. They are already a liability to the towns and State that must be paid back. What do we gain by holding back?
Imagine if the bank approved you for a housing loan to fix your roof. Then said “Although your approved and we are obligated to loan you this money, we won’t be giving it to you for 2 years.”
Your roof continues to degrade to the point it ruins your attic and the small loan to fix the roof is no longer adequate.
Who does that help?
He is just pushing off a legal inevitability.
It is senseless.
Or worse, you signed a contract with the contractor, and he’s sceduled your work, and put off other jobs. Or started a portion of the job, and wanted that payment per the contract. Bad things could come from deals like this.
There are still bonds out there that John Baldacci promised that were yet to be issued by John Baldacci.
I’m not saying your wrong, but name one so we can review it…..
Those were bonds set up for specific long term projects that are either waiting for matching federal funds or are scheduled, but do not yet need the money.
An entirely different situation.
Evidently the town of Livermore Falls showed more bang for the buck. It’s not really favorites although I’m sure politics does have some play. As for the other towns.Well, good management and some elbow grease will actually get the grease for the squeaky wheel. Personally I’m against all bonds. Just another form of hand outs, but hey if it benefits a town in Maine to premote jobs, real state, and property taxs. Go for it. Let’s not be jealous in this case. Let say hey what did they do to get this money, and duplicate it.
No, it was just that a LePage supporter whined and asked for special treatment …
… and got it.
It worked
LePage: “I am a businessman and not a politician…”.
Pauly has ably demonstrated that he is not a politician and he’s even farther from being a statesman. Instead, he’s an ideologue who has pursued a political agenda without regard to building a consensus for governing.
He wishes, ever since he was done with Mardens you can finally walk in around some of them stores without a pile of stuff in the way or tripping over something, if he was a businessman people would have been able to walk in that place to begin with.
You may find of interest the handwritten note that LePage sent in response to McCabe’s first letter – notice how he changed pens in the middle of it:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/100618824/LePage-Response-Letter
This “gentleman” changes direction like the wind, always after consultation with the maine heritage policy center. He has no mind of his own or the interest of the state in mind. HE IS A EXCUTIVE BUSINESSMAN !!!!
When the people voted in favor of the bond issues, I guess they expected that living in a democratic soceity meant their votes really counted for something. I voted for LePage and I’d like to now hold my vote back from being counted for 2 more years. That’s should be ok too, right? Probably not because I’ve got a feeling if his initial supporters all had that opportunity, he’d be looking for a new job. Seriously though, this will cost more money in the long run. An estimate for a job doesn’t last forever, and seldom goes down, so we’ll end up spending more money for the same work when governor blowhard is done throwing his weight around.
If you voted for him, why don’t you send fire him? Send him a letter. If everyone did that, it might just ruin his day. I don’t think he got the message that he is supposed to work for the people.
http://bangor-launch.newspackstaging.com/2012/06/29/news/lewiston-auburn/1-1m-norway-opera-house-renovation-jeopardized-by-lepage-bond-freezes/
here is one that does not show return…. they are in the process of spending 1.1 million restoring a old downtown building for shops…..
when better part of a dozen storefront on the same street are already empty trying to be leased.
nice building? sure… ever goign to pay back a fraction of the cost even if it does lease? no way in hell
This state would fare much better with a governor who showed a return on the investment by the taxpayers, not by ALEC and MHPC.
For the 38% that voted for Mr LePage — did your ballot say that if you voted for him and he won that he was by default ordained ? Because that is surely how he took it. Once elected he was not responsible to the citizens of Maine and surely not to those who did not voted for him even they are the majority.
This man is above reproach. Never has a governor of this State had such disdain for the citizens.
According to Lepage votes by Maine citizens are subject to retroactive delays.
If enough folks swear they voted for Lepage but now want that vote held for later, would Cutler become governor?
Every dollar that Livermore Falls gets from the state has to be paid by the rest of us taxpayers.
Frankly, I think that if downtown development is such a great thing for Livermore Falls, it should be paid for by Livermore Falls and the developer who will reap the returns of the planned renovation.l
I understand what you are saying but it seems as if Gov.Lepage wants to pick and choose according to his own rules.
A majority of Maine voters approved the bond.
If you don’t like this then campaign against the bond issues, don’t retroactively tell Maine voters to go pound sand.
A majority of Maine voters approved the bond. But bond questions are worded so the voters are not clear on what they are voting on, but instead to provide a “feel good” message. Usually it’s some reference to “job creation” even though bonds have not shown to be job creators.
If the bond question had been “Do you favor a X million dollar bond issue to line private developers pockets?” the outcome might have been substantially different. Even the word “favor” is misleading.
The real test would be to pass around the collection plate and see how much the citizens voluntarily contribute!
Your total disdain for Maine voters is duly noted.
So I take it you oppose democracy in general since so many of those voters you sneeringly look down on vote without a lot of actual information about candidates too?
Quite the contrary. I believe democracy is a great system. However, the information presented to the voters in the bond questions is distorted to intentionally mislead the voters. When the voters are given valid and complete information, they can make good decisions.
As to the candidates, they are even worse about distorting information so they will get the most votes.
Each and every bond question includes the amount to be borrowed and projections of the time and cost to pay it back. The language in the initiative becomes legally limiting language that agencies must abide by.
The state website has a lot of background information on every bond package that goes to voters.
If voters chose not to know there is little that can be done.
It’s rather amazing to me how much is missing from this story.
First, it was members of the Governor’s staff and DECD Commissioner George Gervais that did all the outside-the-box thinking, after Kevin Bunker called them in a panic saying that he needed the promised $400,000 in 48 hours or he would lose his major tenant. I wrote about it here:
http://www.dirigoblue.com/2012/07/how-lepage-administration-found-400000-for-livermore-falls-office-development/
Bunker took the memo sent from LePage to Treasurer Poliquin (in which he authorizes a $400,000 bond) to the Maine Rural Development Authority (MRDA), which used the memo as collateral to give Bunker the loan he wanted. MRDA is funded in large part through bonds approved by Maine voters.
When asked about why the Governor’s office volunteered so much help for the Livermore Falls project while Skowhegan was told to go pound sand, Bennett explained that it was a real emergency – Bunker was at risk of losing $150,000 of his own money:
http://www.dirigoblue.com/2012/07/despite-that-his-staff-did-the-out-of-box-thinking-for-another-town-lepage-tells-skowhegan-to-do-so-on-their-own/
I’ll remind readers that Bunker was the developer of the Gilman Place low-income housing project, which then Mayor Paul LePage worked hard to bring to Waterville:
http://www.onlinesentinel.com/news/gilmangoodto-go_2010-04-16.html
On Monday, Rep. McCabe sent a third letter to Gov. LePage, asking the Governor to explain how exactly what steps officials in Skowhegan needed to take to receive the same treatment that Livermore Falls received:
http://www.dirigoblue.com/2012/07/in-letter-mccabe-rep-asks-lepage-how-skowhegan-can-get-the-livermore-falls-treatment/
Investigation, BDN?
Impeachable offense, anyone?
Excellent thorough investigative reporting on http://www.dirigoblue.com. Thank you for posting the correspondence.
Thank you for the enlightenment – I suspected cronyism at best; a greased palm at worst. I already know we are dealing with a man whose word is worthless, who does *not* believe in Democracy, and I suspect Demographics will be a major factor as to which Towns or Cities will benefit.
For someone who claims not to be a politician, he certainly knows how to speak out of both sides of his mouth. When a supporter has big bucks on the line, LePage is quick to come to the rescue and make a special exception for him. I guess that’s one taxpayer who’s definitely going to be able to get a return on his investment, subsidized by our illustrious governor’s largesse.
He has no right to speak about bullying and the damage it does because he is Maine’s biggest bully of all time. He wants all of the power and none of the responsibility. Get him and his suck-off family out of here.
Thank you Gov. LePage. We are not going to get out of this financial mess if we keep spending money for the sake of spending money. If there is an eventual financial benefit for the state, I am more than happy for you to spend my money.
Yes thank you Governor, thank you for flouting the will of the people and proving Maine’s Republican experiment was a complete and utter failure. Florida will be glad to have you in 2014 governor.
I have flagged the comment above. The comment is as offensive and inappropriate as the Governor’s own comment regarding the IRS. Come on folks don’t descend to the level of name calling.
As the Banana Republic goes, so goes the nation.
Wow, now the gov.states that he’s a businessman,Not a politician.What he should have said is not a good politician.He’s trying to save a penny at the expense of the dollar.Interest rates are at an all time low and none.. not even lePage can foresee what they will be in 2014.The bonds will need to go out and be paid for…unless he can find ,in the meantime, a way not to do even that!
Two thoughts come to mind: “Jam yesterday, jam tomorrow, but never jam today” – Alice;
“I’m the papa” – Tevye.
I wonder if those people who voted for LePage realized they were electing a dictator? Maybe when he is voted out in 2014 they rather move to China or North Korea where all things are decided for them.
Speaking of investments, the latest GM numbers have come out and their profits plunged 41% in the second quarter. I wonder if Obama will still be calling this his signature achievement? They still owe us $30 billion and are about to go bankrupt again. This is what happens when you have a government sponsored bankruptcy and let the unions have ownership. (PS – it would have been much worse if not for all their sales to the Federal Government.)
You shouldn’t speak about things you don’t have any clue about, tag. It doesn’t make you look well informed.
“And because I am a businessman and not a politician like you…”
STOP MOVING YOUR MEAT FLAPS!!!
I am wondering what will happen if the Livermore Falls project turns out to not offer a good return on the investment. What then? Will the developer be left holding the bag when the gov’nah doesn’t release the bond money? Or will it be tied up in court when the developer tries to hold the gov’nah to his word, costing the state even more wasted money defending it position?
When gop obstructionism drives the economy off of the fiscal cliff we face in January, and the economy tanks as most respectable economists believe will happen – cuts to spending along with cuts to revenues will slow an already struggling economy even further – what then? Who is going to populate a rejuvenated downtown area if few have the money to spend on goods and services already barely moving because of poor demand, high unemployment, retrenched homeowners trying to pay down their debts?