Think tank's proposal for Maine: spending cuts, then invest savings

BYLINE: Anne Ravana, Bangor Daily News, Maine

Oct. 5--Economic prosperity for Maine could be within reach if the state took bold action and focused its resources on a few critical investments, according to a report being released Thursday.

The report, titled "Charting Maine's Future: An Action Plan for Promoting Sustainable Prosperity and Quality Places," proposes making major government spending cuts, and investing the savings in research and development and land preservation.

The report is one of many economic studies of Maine published in recent years.

"Maine needs a plan to stick with year-in and year-out," said Mark Muro, a policy director at the Brookings Institution, the Washington, D.C., think tank that published the report. "We want you to invest in your economy and stay that course, and increase your energy and urgency."

The 144-page report attempts to provide an objective analysis of trends in Maine's population, economy and land-development. It also indicates what those trends mean for the state's economic health and residents' quality of life.

GrowSmart Maine, a nonprofit in Yarmouth that promotes sustainable economic growth, commissioned the report for $450,000.

Alan Caron, GrowSmart president, said the report is in part a reaction to past research that has not spawned legislative action.

"I think this is a next stage in a lot of good work that's been done in past years," Caron said. "To us the report is just the first step. It's a tool. It's a catalyst to bring action into the future."

Caron said the report marks the beginning of a five-year campaign to build enthusiasm among state residents and encourage elected officials to make a serious commitment to economic development, tax reduction and preservation of rural and agricultural land.

The report outlines three recent major changes in Maine:

--Population growth.

--Sprawl.

--A diversifying economy.

Each change brings with it some positive implications but also some significant challenges that the state must address, the report says.

In a plan for promoting sustainable prosperity in Maine, the report recommends: ä A 10-year, $190 million Quality Places bond fund that would combat sprawl by supporting land and farm conservation and access to forests and lakes, as well as advertising to attract tourists.

To pay for the fund, the report suggests increasing the state's lodging tax by 3 percent, raising the current rate of 7 percent to 10 percent.

* A Government Efficiency Commission, a bipartisan collective that would scrutinize state and local government systems to locate up to $100 million in efficiency and structural savings within state government.

The savings could be applied to tax reduction, the Quality Places Fund, a $2 million Fund for the Efficient Delivery of Local and Regional Services and a $200 million Maine Innovation Jobs bond fund to support research and development in promising areas like forest bioproducts, biotechnology, information technology, organic farming, advanced materials and precision manufacturing.

Read details about the report in Thursday's Bangor Daily News.

The report may be read in its entirety at www.growsmartmaine.org.

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