BAR HARBOR — A letter asking area nonprofits to consider contributing to town coffers inched a step closer to reality Tuesday, when town councilors voted 4-3 in favor of asking town manager Dana Reed to tweak a draft letter written by councilor Jane Disney for possible mailing this fall.

While nonprofits are legally exempt from paying property taxes, Ms. Disney and others said they felt that the groups should be encouraged to make payments-in-lieu-of-taxes (PILTs) anyway. Some area nonprofits already make such payments every year.

The thinking behind the letter is “to bridge the gap in our relationship with nonprofits,” Ms. Disney said. She was joined in support of the letter by councilors Christopher Walsh, Enoch Albert and Peter St. Germain. Council chairman Ruth Eveland and councilors Paul Paradis and Bob Garland voted in the minority.

Those who voted against the move said that past attempts with similar letters have been unsuccessful, and that the end result likely will be more discord than anything.

“This is the kind of thing that gets their dander up. I don’t think we want to do that,” Mr. Garland said.

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