Why Are We Putting All of Our Eggs in The Mill Basket?

While I may disagree with it, I can understand the motivations behind the action taken by the Millinocket town council on Thursday.

The town needs a tax base, and its history has been to depend upon Great Northern Paper Company for the bulk of that base.

Millinocket has always been a mill town, and letting go of that comes hard.

The people of this town have always been millworkers, and many of them were neither ready nor prepared to retire when GNP shut its mills down last December. Many furloughed millworkers, including some of those sitting on the town council, hope to get their jobs back under new management. Another may have a spouse who would like to work for the new owner.

I am not in the least surprised that self interest plays a role in the decisions of our town council, as disinterested individuals seldom seek such positions. I am not shocked by this, but neither am I willing to pretend that it doesn’t exist.

We expect it, but this does not excuse it. As taxpayers of the town of Millinocket, we have a right and even an obligation to look after our own self interests.

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In a perfect world, a town council would represent the taxpayers of the town. In voting to amend the language of the TIF that was granted to Great Northern Paper Company in November of 2001 so that it could be transferred to a new owner, I do not believe that the council was acting in the best interests of the taxpayers.

When a $17 million tax break is offered up even before a new buyer has been found, the council has put the town of Millinocket in a position akin to walking into a negotiation with its pants down around its ankles.

Whoever the new buyer of GNP’s mill in Millinocket may be, I think it’s fair to assume that he will be a shrewd businessman; if it does turn out to be Ron Stern of Belgravia Paper, then we can be assured that he is a shrewd businessman, and the only message that the town has sent to him is one that is sent by battered wives every day - and it is one that says, “Beat me.”

Mr. Conlogue wanted to send a signal to prospective buyers of the mill that Millinocket is willing to work with them, only the message that was sent says instead, “Take advantage of me, I’m easy.”

This does not put the town in a good position, and it does not represent the best interests of the taxpayers of Millinocket.

What is the likelihood of things working out for the best? I suppose that depends on who you are. If there is tit for tat, then perhaps our council members will do okay.

How about the rest of the town?

When Belgravia Investments purchased the West Linn, Oregon mill, the townspeople were hopeful about getting their jobs back. Did they?

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