Cover Story piece on South Portland tax assessor Elizabeth Sawyer, who might b

Cover Story piece on South Portland tax assessor Elizabeth Sawyer, who might be the only tax assessor in the country to insist that a nonprofit credit counseling organization such as Consumer Credit Counseling Services of Maine (CCCS) pay local property taxes. At issue is an annual bill of nearly $17,000 in real estate and personal property taxes assessed on the South Portland building that CCCS bought, renovated and, in March 1998, moved into. CCCS applied for an abatement or exemption of local real estate and property taxes, because it has federal 501c3 or charitable tax-exempt status. But Sawyer denied the application, claiming it is based on a huge federally sanctioned exemption that doesn\u27t make sense. CCCS is now suing Sawyer and the city of South Portland. A court date is expected this summer