BRUNSWICK — The developer of the decommissioned Brunswick Naval Air Station won’t be getting any tax money back from the town this year.

The Brunswick Town Council voted 8-1 on Tuesday, with Benet Pols opposed, to do away with tax-increment financing at the former Navy base – for now.

“This is a, basically, ‘We’re putting it on hold right now,’ ” Town Manager Gary Brown said of the council’s decision.

He said the state’s Department of Economic and Community Developement in March approved two 30-year TIF districts on 729 acres of the base, now called Brunswick Landing.

The terms of the TIFs were identical, but had to be split up into two districts because state law has a size limit on TIF districts, said Brown.

Although the location of the districts and length of the agreements had been determined and approved by the state, the town and developer Midcoast Regional Redevelopment Authority hadn’t reached an agreement on how to split up the taxes between them.

Brown said MRRA had indicated it expected to have $12 million in taxes returned over the life of the TIF.

He said the council was expected to decide Tuesday whether to move forward in forming a development program, outlining those terms, to submit to the state.

After an executive session, the council decided not to pursue those negotiations and to terminate the approved TIF districts.

Brown cited possible changes to the state’s tax-increment financing laws as one reason the council did not feel comfortable moving forward with the agreement.

Also, he said, the town is facing a significant tax increase and the council felt it should “take care of Brunswick first.”

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