The Maine Irish Heritage Center in Portland has long been treated as a "charitable and benevolent" institution for tax purposes.
But no more. Its tax status has been revoked by city authorities and the financial hit will be significant.
In a letter to members "of the Maine Irish Heritage Center Community," the center's Executive Director, Dr. Eric Collins Brown, outlined the sudden and newly challenging financial situation.
He wrote: "The Maine Irish Heritage Center learned several weeks ago that after nearly twenty-five years of existence as a non-profit in Portland, the City has revoked our longstanding property-tax exemption.
"A letter from the Tax Assessor's office has ruled that we no longer qualify as a 'charitable and benevolent' institution, and as a result we will be due to pay full taxes on the historic building we have been preserving and maintaining since 2002. The projected financial impact is upwards of $50,000 for the next fiscal year.
"Needless to say we were shocked by this decision, not least because we have always had an excellent relationship with the City and have not changed our mission in any way to justify this reclassification.
"We continue to work to maintain and preserve our historic landmark, promote and celebrate Irish arts, culture, and history through a wide array of programs and educational initiatives, and serve as a true community center, all in support of the public good.
"We are not the only non-profit to be targeted in this way, and so far more than a dozen others such as Maine Public and Mayo Street Arts have been similarly challenged. However, our situation is also particular in the relatively small operation we manage in proportion to the assessed value of our unique and beloved building.
"In brief, the City's reasoning is based on the interpretation by relatively new hires in the Assessor's office who are redefining the terms 'benevolent and charitable institutions' as they appear in state statute 36 M.R.S. §652.
"They are relying on a narrowly literalist reading of Maine case law, which itself is a citation of Massachusetts case law that goes back to 1867: 'The Law Court [ . . . ] has also defined charitable as being ‘for the benefit of an indefinite number of persons, either by bringing their minds or hearts under the influence of education or religion, by relieving their bodies from disease, suffering, or constraint, by assisting them to establish themselves in life, or by erecting or maintaining public buildings or works or otherwise lessening the burdens of government.'
"We believe that even strictly interpreted we qualify under multiple categories in this definition, particularly around education and the maintenance of a building that serves a dedicated public role, but in that we are in direct disagreement with the City.
"We are in the middle of putting together what we expect to be a convincing reapplication for exemption, due April 1. Meanwhile, we are also pursuing other possible means for more immediate change at the state level.
"If you are interested in helping our cause at this stage, please consider immediately contacting local city officials including the City Manager, Mayor, and members of City Council. Please also reach out to your local and state legislators and party leaders and urge them to take immediate action to intervene in this matter by revising the terms of the them to take immediate action to intervene in this matter by revising the terms of the current state statute to explicitly protect non-profits like the Maine Irish Heritage Center."
The letter now includes a list of contacts: ryan.fecteau@legislature.maine.gov (Speaker of the House) teresa.pierce@legislature.maine.gov (Senate Majority Leader) And for the City of Portland: jill.duson@legislature.maine.gov. Rachel.TalbotRoss@legislature.maine.gov. Michael.Brennan@legislature.maine.gov. Ed.Crockett@legislature.maine.gov. Grayson.Lookner@legislature.maine.gov. Matt.Moonen@legislature.maine.gov. Dylan.Pugh@legislature.maine.gov. Charles.Skold@legislature.maine.gov Yusuf.Yusuf@legislature.maine.gov.
Concluded Dr. Collins Brown: "Governor Mills will soon be declaring March 'Maine Irish Heritage Month.' And with good reason - the Irish in Maine have an extensive and critical role in the history of our state.
"But even if you are not directly connected yourself to Irish heritage, we hope you will see that the targeting of our institution and others is also a target upon arts, culture, heritage, and preservation organizations across the rest of Portland and potentially the State of Maine."
The Heritage Center is located in the historic former Saint Dominic's Church in Portland.
