Council to discuss city budget
By Kathy McCarty
Staff Writer
PRESQUE ISLE — City officials will hold a special meeting on Monday, June 17, at City Hall to discuss the latest budget concerns. The session has been set to 5 p.m.
City Council has spent the past few months looking for ways to reduce the municipal budget by as much as $400,000 in an effort to be prepared, should state revenue sharing fall short. The latest news from Augusta leads City Manager Jim Bennett to believe revenue sharing funds will, in fact, be greatly reduced.
“The proposed state budget adopted by the Appropriations Committee actually reduces revenue sharing beyond the numbers we’re talking about. We were getting around $1.2 million a year over the past couple years. The draft budget for the state — whose calendar year runs July 1, 2013 through June 30, 2014 — shows the city of Presque Isle receiving $780,000; in 2015, it shows we’ll receive even less, $720,000,” said Bennett.
Bennett said this is a far cry from what the law says the city should be receiving.
“Under state law, we’re supposed to get around $1.9 million,” said the city manager.
Bennett said councilors will get revised numbers Monday night.
“It will require around $290,000 (in cuts) to make the municipal budget whole — to match the revenue sharing rate and balance our budget,” said Bennett, noting the city will need to find over $200,000 in savings the following year.
Bennett said Presque Isle will likely take a larger hit than other communities in the state, if revenue sharing falls short as predicted.
“It’s a combination of factors. Presque Isle has received more revenue sharing as a portion of what our budget is compared to other communities,” said Bennett.
If lawmakers in Augusta approve the revenue sharing cuts as presented, Presque Isle taxpayers could see an increase in their taxes, according to Bennett.
“As it stands, their current proposal would translate to about 55 cents per $1,000 in valuation for taxpayers,” said Bennett. “And that’s not counting any increase that might come from the school budget.”
Councilors will have a better idea at Monday’s meeting how school figures factor into the mix, following Tuesday’s vote on the SAD 1 budget.
Council is also planning another special budget meeting on Monday, June 24, at City Hall. For more information on either meeting, call 760-2785 or visit www.presqueisle.govoffice2.com
