By Kathy McCarty
Staff Writer
PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — Municipal employees and the public are feeling the impact of the continued loss of revenue sharing dollars. Following on the heels of the Aug. 30 furlough day, City Council voted in September to temporarily cut municipal office hours to help resolve the shortfall, effective Monday, Oct. 7. “The city has formally requested assistance from the employee bargaining units to help deal with the shortfall caused by the reduction in revenue sharing. The discussion with the unionized workforce has been ongoing since June 3. As a reminder, the legislative raids to revenue sharing have been steady over the last six years; for Presque Isle, they have been quite steep. In 2008, the city received a high of $1,988,085. In 2013, the city is expected to receive $1,006,467. In 2014, the projections are that we will receive $746,467,” said City Manager Jim Bennett, in a memo to councilors.
Bennett said in order to close the revenue sharing gap from the last budget of nearly a half million dollars, $125,000 was passed to taxpayers, with the rest dealt with by employees.
“The furlough day saved about $12,000, resulting in 20 percent less paycheck for city employees,” said Bennett.
Bennett told councilors the city could be facing about a $2 increase in the tax rate ($2 per $1,000 in valuation). Options for saving money are becoming more difficult, according to Bennett.
“My recommendation reluctantly is for you (councilors) to vote to change City Hall hours from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. effective Oct. 7 and reduce all professional unit work hours by 2.5 hours a week,” said Bennett. “I’m not happy about being in this situation. I spent 75 days with unions trying to find a solution.”
Bennett indicated part of the problem involved health insurance costs to the city.
Council Chair Emily Smith said part of the problem was municipal employees’ health insurance, which she called “topnotch.” She said “an average employees’ maximum out-of-pocket expense is $1,000,” while she knows some people working for private businesses who “have a $5,000 deductible or more.”
“We’re looking for places to try to make things equate to where there’s some realm of normalcy between what people pay in the private sector and what’s happening in city benefits,” said Smith.
Councilor Craig Green, who’s also a New York Life Insurance agent, said there’s “quite a disparity between our plan and what Main Street has for a plan.”
“I have friends who work for the state and have had no pay increase in four years, yet their insurance costs for their family is up every year,” said Green. “The gentleman, wife and two kids bring home about $500 every two weeks, once benefits are taken out. Our employees pay $19 a week. How can I look at him and say ‘we’re raising your taxes again,’” said Green.
Green said when dealing with the elderly and other citizens who don’t have health insurance, “talking $19 to $96 — that’s a big change and I understand that, but we’re not in a situation of having money coming in any longer.”
“You’re the face of our community and we’re glad for what you do. We’re between a rock and a hard place. If you have suggestions, we’d love to hear them,” he said.
Council Mike Chasse said the city wasn’t “a Fortune 500 company making a big profit.”
“We’re paid by the citizens. I have trouble seeing them (citizens) asked to pay so much more when they’re being hit by things every single day,” said Chasse.
“The reality is, we have two choices: either pass the increase on to taxpayers or find ways to cut costs. Other choices would be to lay people off and cut services. It’s unfair, absolutely, but it’s also unfair to taxpayers,” said Bennett.
“The buck stops here. The feds borrow money from the federal reserve and the state cuts money to municipalities to balance their budget. We have tough decisions to make,” said Smith, as she asked for a vote, with councilors approving a reduction of 2.5 hours for municipal offices.
