Cumberland County Power & Light Co. v. Inhabitants of Town of Hiram

• Citation: 131 A. 594
• Parties: CUMBERLAND COUNTY POWER & LIGHT CO. v. INHABITANTS OF TOWN OF HIRAM.
• Decision Date: 23 January 1926
• Court: Supreme Judicial Court of Maine (US)

131 A. 594

CUMBERLAND COUNTY POWER & LIGHT CO.

v. INHABITANTS OF TOWN OF HIRAM.

Supreme Judicial Court of Maine.

Jan. 23, 1926.

Exceptions from Supreme Judicial Court, York County, at Law.

Application by the Cumberland County Power & Light Company for abatement of tax, opposed by the Inhabitants of the Town of Hiram. Appeal under Rev. St. c. 10, 79, 82, from the decision of the assessors refusing to abate the tax, heard by a single justice in vacation, by agreement of the parties, under chapter 87, § 37, and, from his ruling upon matters of law, exceptions were certified. Exceptions overruled.

Argued before WILSON, C. J., and PHILBROOK, MORRILL, STURGIS, and BARNES, JJ.

Verrill, Hale, Booth & Ives, of Portland, for plaintiff.

Alton C. Wheeler, of South Paris, for defendant.

STURGIS, J. The petitioner for abatement is the owner of the hydroelectric power plant located at Hiram Falls on the Saco river, with more than half the dam in the town of Hiram and the remainder, together with the power house, etc., in the town of Baldwin which adjoins Hiram at the thread of the stream. The land taxed consists of 30 acres immediately adjacent to the river, and includes the site of the dam on the Hiram side.

At the hearing upon the appeal, the petitioner claimed that the appraisement of its property by the town assessors for the year 1922 was manifestly in excess of its just value, and introduced records showing the original cost of the development, with allocation of cost of construction to the two sides of the river, and estimates of replacement value, with proper depreciation allowance. The land value was considered in the light of the power privilege appurtenant to it, and the justice found that the "just value" of the 30 acres of land, and the portion of the dam taxed to the petitioner as of April 1, 1922, was $116,000, and abated the tax accordingly. This finding meets with the approval of the petitioner, to the extent that it accepts the figure of $116,000 as the just value which the Constitution of this state fixes as the basis of taxation. Its present complaint is that by this finding it is taxed upon the full just value of its taxable property in this town, while all other properties are taxed on approximately a 75 per cent. basis of their respective just values. The exception taken is to the refusal of the single justice to fix the value of the petitioner's property for taxation at 75 per cent. of its just value as found, and abate its tax accordingly.

A careful examination and consideration of the testimony of the assessors leads us to the conclusion that, subject to the imperfections of human judgment, they intended and attempted to apportion and assess all taxes upon real estate in the town of Hiram in the year 1922 according to the just value thereof and in accordance with section 8 of article 9 of the Constitution of this state, which provides:

"All taxes upon real and personal estate, assessed by authority of this state, shall be apportioned and assessed equally, according to the just value thereof."

The method of valuation adopted was this. Having determined what, in the light...