Lisbon interim Town Manager Jim Bennett proposed a municipal budget for next year that is nearly a million dollars less than the current year, delivering on the Town Council’s desire to keep property tax increases low after tax bills spiked.

Bennett presented his proposal last Monday, March 2, when he walked councilors through some of the budget drivers and how he made suggested cuts.

Interim Lisbon Town Manager Jim Bennett. (Courtesy of city of Biddeford)

The proposed operating budget is a little over $13 million, down by 6.7% from the nearly $14 million approved last year. His proposal does not include Capital Improvement Plan funding. Any increases to the town’s share of county expenses or the school budget would influence whether taxpayers see lower property tax bills this year. 

According to Bennet, every million dollars spent in the budget translates to about $1 on the tax rate. His budget as presented would drop the tax rate by 22 cents per $1,000 of property valuation, or 1.25%.

Using last year’s county and school budget within the calculations, this would reduce the tax rate from $17.25 to $17.03 per $1,000 of property value, Bennett said. A home valued at $300,000 would pay $5,109 in property taxes at that proposed rate, down from $5,175 in the current year.

Bennett was able to find savings in a few areas of the budget, including an expected $30,000 by eliminating businesses from using the town dump, and up to $30,000 by transferring the Recreation Department’s staff to the Public Works department for 18 weeks in the winter to help with snow removal and eliminate the need for part-time workers.

Bennett is also proposing to cut more than $600,000 from the current Parks and Recreation Department budget, around $640,000 from the street light account and hydrant rentals account, more than $500,000 from public works, more than $100,000 from animal control, nearly $300,000 from fire protection, more than $500,000 from the police department, and almost $100,000 from the tax collector’s account.

The budget cuts come after budgeting errors in previous years drove up last year’s town budget, with people seeing significant increases on their property tax bills.

The errors stemmed from miscalculations that led to less property tax revenue being collected. Funds in the town’s unallocated fund balance were used to cover the funding shortfalls, driving down the town’s savings. It resulted in residents seeing low property tax bill increases for a couple of years.

But despite Bennett’s proposed cuts to next year’s budget, residents could still see an increase on their tax bills, depending on how much the county and school budgets increase.

There were some budget increases Bennett had to work around this year. One involved a business — Dingley Press — that had received a tax increment financing deal with the town that has expired.

This drives up the town’s taxable property base by nearly $20 million, leading to a decrease in expected state revenue sharing and school funding of about $700,000, Bennett said. The town could also see an increase in the town’s share of the county budget.

Bennett is also recommending that the town allocate $275,000 for its new property tax relief program for seniors, a program councilors approved earlier this year.

Bennett also presented his proposed budget alongside the budgets from each town department head, showing a difference of nearly $600,000 between what was requested and the lower amount Bennett is recommending.

One of the biggest differences between what was requested per department and what Bennett is recommending comes in the social services budget line. Department heads requested increases totaling $394,500; Bennett is recommending spending $276,000 on that line item.

Other areas where he shaved proposed department requests include reductions of: $35,000 for general assistance, $80,000 for Public Works, $30,000 for winter operations and about $30,000 from the Parks and Recreation Department budget.

Bennett did not discuss recommended funding for the Capital Improvement Plan or include it in his presentation about the town’s operating budget, though he does have a recommendation. He expects the council will have a robust discussion about that in future budget talks.

Documents posted on the town website show that town department heads are recommending a nearly $2.2 million Capital Improvement Plan budget for next year. Bennett is recommending roughly $1.6 million.

No council discussion took place after the budget presentation aside from a couple of comments from Town Council Chair Chris Camire. Councilors met Monday, March 9, to work on the budget. They will meet again Thursday at 6 p.m. for more budget talks.