Hebron awaits decision in tax case

HEBRON —  "We are just sitting back and waiting for a decision," Selectman Dan Eichorn said on behalf of the town during the selectmen meeting Monday, regarding the Hebron Academy v. Town of Hebron case.

The argument, selectmen have said, is whether Hebron Academy should pay property taxes on Robinson Arena and other facilities the school rents out for public use.

A Wednesday hearing was scheduled in Maine Supreme Judicial Court in Portland, inviting briefs from parties outside the litigation interested in the case's outcome.

In 2009, the town of Hebron began taxing Hebron Academy for its hockey rink, Robinson Arena. The town alleges the school runs the arena as a business and charged it $19, 240 in taxes.

In 2010, the school requested an abatement before the Oxford County Commission but commissioners denied the request because it had not been filed in time, according to reports.

In December 2010, the academy filed a lawsuit against the town for tax-exempt status.

Town attorney Bryan Dench argued at a November 2011 hearing that under Maine statute, the Academy at the time did not qualify for tax-exempt status because it could not prove it was either "literary" or "scientific," reports say.

In February 2012, Oxford County Justice Robert Clifford ruled in the Academy's favor. He decided from 2010 on the school would be exempt from property taxes on most of its property, including the arena.

Because the Academy was too late in contesting its 2009 real estate taxes on the arena and other parcels, Justice Clifford ruled that the taxes, worth $19,240, would still need to be paid.

According to selectmen, the town appealed the court's decision, and Maine's highest court was scheduled to hear the case Wednesday.

Eichorn iterated during Monday's meeting that the town is obligated to tax properties, which under Maine rules, are subject to taxation. 

"We are just following what the rules are," he said, explaining that the town doesn't pick and choose which properties to tax.

"There's a chance we might have a decision by town meeting, but there is also a chance we might not," said Eichorn. "Who knows."

In other news, the board:

• Reported that someone in Buckfield is buying disposed appliances at the town's transfer station, ridding them of freon and selling them. Selectmen said the transfer station will be closed on Christmas and New Year's Day.

• Discussed the construction of a temporary shed for road salt storage.

• Discussed looking into a new payroll service for town employees beginning in January, 2013. 

• Reported that the town office will close at 12 p.m. on Christmas and New Year's Eve.

•Reported that the next scheduled selectmen meeting is Wednesday, December 26, at 7 p.m. at the town office.

Edited on December 13 to change the time the town office will close for Christmas and New Year's Eve (from 2 p.m. to 12 p.m.).