FARMINGTON — Franklin County commissioners voted unanimously Tuesday to accept an amendment to a 2008 tax-increment financing agreement the county has with TransCanada Wind Development Inc.

The amendment will go to the Maine Department of Economic and Community Development for review.

The decision came after a 90-minute public hearing with most of those who commented in favor of the amendment. David Heidrich Jr., director of communications for the Maine Department of Administrative and Financial Services, spoke against it.

The TIF is tied to TransCanada’s wind energy facility in Kibby and Skinner townships. The percentage of Kibby facility value to total county value is 3.7 percent. The percent of TIF value sheltered to county value is 2.8 percent,  John Cleveland of Community Dynamics Corp. in Auburn, said. He is a consultant for the county.  

Cleveland stressed that TransCanada did not request more funds and did not request the TIF to be amended. County commissioners requested it, he said.

Sen. Tom Saviello, R-Wilton, said the amendment could also lower the county budget because some funding for existing budget items could be prorated and come out of TIF revenues.

If the amendment is approved by the Maine Department of Economic and Community Development, the county stands to collect about $19.4 million over the 30-year life of the TIF. Of that amount, $16.4 million is from the TIF, and the rest is from an Economic Enhancement Agreement.

The amendment extends the original 20-year TIF district to 30 years, until 2038. 

It also opens the doors for the county to do more public projects in the unorganized territory and to try to attract new businesses to the territory through a better-funded revolving-loan program. 

The existing Credit Enhancement Agreement the county has with TransCanada will still expire after the original 20 years in 2028. The existing agreement caps the county at collecting $4 million over that period and the Canada-based company at $8.9 million.

Under the amendment, TransCanada will receive approximately $13.1 million and the county, approximately $16.4 million.

Currently, the county captures 75 percent of TIF tax revenue and sends 25 percent to the state for the unorganized territory for the first 10 years. In the past 10 years of the agreement, the county was slated to capture 50 percent of the new tax revenue and sends 50 percent to the state.

Of the 75 and 50 percent amounts, TransCanada gets 60 percent, and the county, 40 percent. 

The amendment allows the county to capture 100 percent of the new tax revenue with the 60-40 percent split staying intact. If the amendment is approved by the state, the 100 percent capture will begin April 1, 2017.

From 2029 to 2038, all TIF revenues go to the county and no TIF funds will be sent to the state.   

In addition, the county will receive approximately $3 million more from TransCanada under a newly created Economic Enhancement Agreement, which is separate from the TIF. Those funds will be able to be spent throughout Franklin County while the TIF funds need to be spent to benefit the unorganized territory. Pending state approval, the agreement will begin in November 2017.

The amendment would not change the Community Benefit Agreement TransCanada has with the town of Eustis. The company has given the town about $132,000 a year for the past eight years, Cleveland said.

New development programs will go into effect immediately, if the amendment is approved. 

dperry@sunmediagroup.net