To the editor:
The past two years have been a very turbulent time in the city of Presque Isle for our budget and infrastructure. As your council, we have been tasked with making choices that at times may seem to be difficult to find the logic in. We have all come from varied backgrounds and life experiences and yet when presented with the facts of the economics of our city we have been very closely aligned in how to make choices that will impact the community for many years to come.
First and foremost, we want to assure everyone that we have concern for you as you try to balance your own budgets and realize that our choices ultimately require you to react to them with your hard-earned money. It is an important duty that we have to be mindful of the balance between the need for everyday operating expenses and the planning for long-term economic development. We owe it to every taxpayer to be as efficient as possible on our operating budget and to spend money wisely on items of importance to the future of our community.
It is with that mindset that we have approached the budget in the past two years. As you recall, we had a significant shortfall in our funding for the 2012 and 2013 budget years from the state revenue sharing. This amounted to over $1 million that we did not receive. We were faced with the choice to either increase taxes to cover this, or be creative and look at line items in the budget where we could save money by reductions. This shortfall, once announced, caused us to find solutions with only three months of planning and that proved too quick to find enough items to cover the full deficit. Once we had the extra time to tackle the impending shortfall for the 2013 budget we were able to find many more items that allowed us to not increase taxes and absorb the loss of revenue. The ability to have time to plan was critical in keeping our budget level. As long-range items, we were able to negotiate with some of the unions to save on benefit costs, and another significant savings was the agreement to partner with UMPI to share the indoor pool. This alone will save taxpayers more than $100,000 every year.
It is our feeling that the raid on the revenue sharing has not concluded and we must position the city for further cuts. Even if those cuts do not immediately materialize, it still is good policy to keep looking at every possible budget item for any savings that could help keep our tax rate from rising. In view of these goals, we have identified another place where we may be able to save and/or stabilize the budget.
Our City Hall was built in 1919 and is largely unmodified in its basic construction since then. Some upgrades have been done throughout its history of ownership by the city, and although it is currently not in a state of disrepair, it does need some maintenance. We have asked for proposals on the front steps to repair them more permanently. Our last job to recover the surface was only successful in holding them for three years. It would be wise for efficiency’s sake to replace the windows and the roof is within 10 years of a replacement.
We know that all of these items are budget drivers for us and would add to the city’s expenses in the coming years. The unknown items such as the furnace and elevator, although they are in good repair, are also large dollar items should they become troublesome. You as the taxpayer are also footing the bill to heat a three-story brick building that has very little insulation and a tremendous amount of wasted space.
In the past month we have been approached on several options within the community to look at office spaces as long-term leases. At first we were not excited to make changes to long-held community property yet again, but … after discussion and focusing on what is important for our city’s growth and what could be a more efficient way to serve the public need, we have begun to see that this idea could be a way to cap the budget cost of running the city offices.
By entering into a lease and relieving the taxpayer of future possible renovations at our current structure, we can begin to stabilize the tax rate as it relates to City Hall. We won’t have to worry about future major expenses that could, in essence, “blow up the maintenance budget” and be more focused on other long-term growth items. Having a leased space on one level would be easier for the public to do business with us, as well.
In the very near future you will see requests for proposals from the city to ask landlords to offer us leasing and other options to move the offices of City Hall. You will also see requests for the reuse of City Hall for other taxable purposes. Once we have this information, we will carefully weigh the costs of staying or going, with these goals: Can we…
• Provide a cost savings to our citizens?
• Have more accessible, efficient and professional offices?
• Make a more cohesive work environment for our staff?
• Market our current building to make it a tax-producing property?
Achieving these goals will allow us to more readily afford long-term projects like the development of our new community center and pool. Presque Isle has always been a special place for many of us and keeping costs affordable, and the services that we all enjoy intact, is important. It is not easy to do this with today’s financial uncertainty, but with your support for a continued focus on daily operations, we will try to be the best stewards of your money and your trust.
Thank you for your time, and feel free to reach out to us with your concerns.
Emily Smith, Chairperson
Randy Smith,
Deputy Chairperson
Peter Hallowell, Councilor
Bruce Sargent, Councilor
Dick Engels, Councilor
Craig Green, Councilor
Mike Chasse, Councilor
