Ellsworth Walmart and How Big Box Stores Are Short-Changing Maine

A battle between Corporate America and municipal government rages on in Ellsworth.

On August 19, Wal-Mart Real Estate Business Trust filed a second request to lower its assessed property value from $20.1 million to $10 million, cutting its taxes in Ellsworth by upwards of $180,000 annually.

How is this even possible? Through the employment of the “dark store assessment.”

The dark store assessment is a loophole used by big box stores, such as Walmart, to lower their property taxes. Corporations value their active locations as if they were vacant storefronts, costing local communities tens of thousands of dollars in revenue. They often argue that because their stores are designed specifically for their purposes, their value on the real estate market would be far less than traditional estimates.

This is hardly a new strategy for Walmart. In 2017 alone, Wal-Mart Real Estate Business Trust attempted to use the dark store assessment to appeal its property taxes in eight different Maine towns, including Ellsworth. It did so in municipalities across the country.

And it’s not just Walmart, Maine accountant John O’Donnell told the Ellsworth American: “It’s coming to your town soon, as they say. Walmart, CVS, Home Depot, Kohls, Walgreens. The dark store method is being embraced.”

For municipalities battling the dark store theory, even a win can result in losses due to excessive legal fees needed to counter corporate lawyers.

“Just the threat of going to court may intimidate an assessor to lower the value,” said Ellsworth Assessor Larry Gardner in 2019.

Legislation to close the dark store loophole was introduced in the Legislature this past session. LD 1129 would have required tax assessors to value retail properties based on cost minus depreciation, income generated, and comparable property sales. The bill did not advance.

Our towns cannot be beholden to corporations like Walmart, who use our infrastructure and our labor to benefit themselves. We cannot allow them to deny us the revenue needed to maintain our roads, educate our children, and maintain a decent quality of life for Maine’s working families.

Sign if you agree: Stop big box stores from short-changing Maine.

Teachers and School Staff Combat COVID-19, Protect Students

Pfizer this week announced that its COVID-19 vaccine is effective for children ages 5 to 11. While this is great news in a time where nearly one in four hospitalized coronavirus patients is under 18, it could still be some time before we see vaccines distributed to younger children. How are teachers and education administrators keeping our children safe during this difficult period?

Pooled COVID-19 Testing

Teachers are working hard to ensure students’ safety. Over half of Maine schools participate in pooled testing, where students and staff are regularly tested for COVID-19. Teachers and administrators teach younger children how to swab their noses and put their samples in vials, which are then sent to a Massachusetts lab for PCR testing. If the lab finds a positive test in a school’s batch of tests, individual students are then tested.

Students who test positive and those with whom they have close contact will have to quarantine for 10 days. This testing method is designed to lower the risk of COVID-19 outbreaks by catching them early, as well as reduce the number of close contacts who need to quarantine.

Vaccinations

The State of Maine has maintained a database with the vaccination status of teachers and school staff. As of the end of August, three-quarters of all educators and school staff are fully vaccinated. That said, the rate of vaccination varies widely by school. Just 30 schools boast 100 percent vaccination rates. Many schools have failed to report their vaccination status at all, which still leaves a lot of unknowns.

Universal Masking and Building Upgrades

In accordance with both the federal and state CDC, students, teachers, and staff are asked to wear masks at all times while indoors. Meanwhile, Governor Mills put aside $300 million last summer to upgrade school ventilation systems and expand outdoor spaces, leaving fewer avenues of transmission.

It goes without saying that teachers are deserving of our utmost respect for the work they do. They are often overworked and underpaid, and a shortage of educators exacerbated by the pandemic makes the burden on our teachers that much greater.

Sign our letter to teachers and school staff to thank them for keeping our children safe and healthy during the pandemic.

The best thing we can do to recognize and protect educators during this time is to protect ourselves and our families. This means continuing to wear masks per CDC guidelines and getting vaccinated if we’re eligible. This will also help us to reduce the spread of COVID-19 to children, which has become more prevalent with the Delta variant. It’s on all of us to keep our students, our educators, and our communities safe.

A Consumer-Owned Utility is Now Up to Mainers

According to J.D. Power, CMP has ranked dead last in customer satisfaction for the past three years, with Versant not doing much better. (Its 2020 score was even lower than Pacific Gas & Electric in California, responsible for last year’s Camp Fire and this year’s Dixie Fire.) The low ratings have a lot to do with CMP’s ever-growing pricetag. And with the ongoing controversy over the transmission corridor between Quebec and Massachusetts, it’s time we pursue a utility company that works for the people of Maine.

The Maine Legislature listened to the concerns of everyday citizens seeking a solution to their power troubles. Both the House and the Senate passed LD 1708, “An Act To Create the Pine Tree Power Company, a Nonprofit Utility, To Deliver Lower Rates, Reliability and Local Control for Maine Energy Independence.” However, Governor Mills vetoed the bill, calling it too rushed.

The future of a consumer-owned utility now rests in the hands of the voters. Pine Tree Power Company may go to a referendum as early as 2022.

There are several ongoing grassroots campaigns promoting the creation of a consumer-owned utility company in Maine. Our Power is leading the pack, starting its Citizen Initiative project in August to put Pine Tree Power Co. on the ballot in 2022. The organization argues that CMP and Versant currently charge their customers 58 percent more than one would pay to a consumer-owned utility, which also offers a more reliable grid, a faster transition to clean energy, and accountability to the people of Maine. Maine Public Power has begun canvassing in Cumberland County to collect the signatures needed for the referendum. Additional support has come from the Maine chapter of the Sierra Club and the Natural Resources Council of Maine.

Every month, the 800,000 captive combined customers of CMP and Versant pay monopoly rent

for the use of a monopoly grid. With Pine Tree Power, we will pay a lower monthly bill,” said Representative Seth Berry, lead sponsor on LD 1708. “We will save money, invest in and improve the grid, and build our own equity.”

“The Pine Tree Power Company will restore democracy to our energy sector and provide Mainers with the only utility structure in the U.S. that has demonstrated the ability to deliver 100% clean energy to its customers — consumer ownership,” said Vaughan Woodruff, founder and former CEO of Insource Renewables and past chair of Maine’s solar industry trade group..

Power is more than a commodity on which private and foreign shareholders can profit. It is a necessity we rely on to light our homes, keep food fresh, and manage our daily lives. Mainers deserve a say in where their power comes from, and that starts with a consumer-owned utility.