People, pollutants, and property taxes are on the rise in Windham.

In the Roman Catholic Church there is a sacrament called “reconciliation.” Repentant sinners are forgiven and attain reconciliation with God and the Church for having confessed their sins and for performing a penance. Penance, for all intents and purposes, is a token punishment undertaken to make amends. For reconciliation to be effective, wrongdoers must be forthright about their sins and be willing to right their wrongs and not lapse again.

So what does this have to do with Windham? Windham’s residents have been fed two myths that have fast-tracked us on a path of high pollutants, increasing property taxes, and becoming a bedroom community. To atone for growth’s unavoidable outcomes, we must first be truthful about the ways development impacts our town, second, be willing to make amends, and third, work hard not to travel down the same path again. We must be vigilant in recognizing and exposing these myths when they present themselves. The myths are as follows:

Myth One: Growth is inevitable.

Growth is not inevitable, though the right types of growth should not be impeded either. To curb growth, or at least have it pay its own way, we must look at impact fees designed to offset the cost that added infrastructure growth requires and to encourage development in areas that can support growth. Residents should be cognizant of zoning changes designed to increase growth and challenge them if they are not in the best interest of the community as a whole.

Myth Two: Residential and commercial growth will make your taxes go down.

Hogwash. Residential, commercial, and industrial growth has actually increased Windham’s tax levy by an average yearly percentage of 7.9 percent between 1980 and 2009 with a population increase of 49.8 percent over the past 30 years. During this same period, 2,445 single-family building permits have been issued and 1,224 industrial and commercial permits. When added together and evaluated over 30 years, the average yearly percent change has been 7.1 percent. If there was any truth to the idea that increases in growth would make our property taxes go down, why does Windham’s tax levy continue to increase? After all, 30 years of free-spirited growth is a pretty good experiment, even if the results are damning. The answer is that the way we have grown has likely required increases in tax-supported services like fire, police, public works, and education in addition to infrastructure like roads, buildings, and now a sewer.

Which brings me to my muse for this column. Robert Gerber, a geologist with Sebago Technics, met with the Windham Town Council at its Nov. 16 council workshop to discuss increased concentrations of common development-related contaminants in North Windham groundwater. In his presentation summary he states “The effects of development on groundwater quality have been significant.”

Now, if you want a sewer in North Windham, and some do, pollutants in our groundwater is great news and certainly justification for building one. Did I mention with debt service, the cost would be close to $144 million (with a margin of error minus-30 percent or plus-50 percent) according to Woodard & Curran. I predict a sharp increase in our tax levy if and when we move ahead with a new sewer. If you are a little more inquisitive like me, you start to wonder how else growth has impacted our property taxes, traffic, natural resources, health and public safety, schools and quality of life.

Admitting our past sins (e.g., development) and righting our wrongs (e.g., building a sewer and paying for it with money taxpayers have yet to earn) will only be effective if we are factual about all of growth’s impact on our town and take the steps necessary to move toward a more sustainable future.

Now is the time to take a step back and challenge the Town Council to assess growth’s impact on Windham in a comprehensive and pragmatic manner, not just how it relates to building a sewer. Only when we fully understand development’s past and future repercussions on Windham, can we plan accurately.

Patrick Corey lives in Windham. He can be reached at [email protected].