FRENCHVILLE, Maine – Frenchville residents approved a $419,669 budget during a March 18 town meeting at the Frenchville Community Center.
The budget represents a roughly $46,000 increase over the 2024 budget of $373,605.
Town Manager David Cyr said that while no one department saw any significant increases, the town did increase payroll for all departments across the board.
“The board instituted a funding formula with steps and grades so that everybody’s pay was commensurate with the amount of time they’ve been here, and their responsibilities,” he said.
Cyr said on March 17 that it is still too early to say how this budget could impact the mill rate, as the school and county budgets have not yet been determined.
Last year, the town had a revaluation in which property values were doubled. This resulted in officials approving a mill rate of 11.9, which is less than half of the previous year’s mill rate of 24.8.
Roughly 10 residents sat in the audience during the town meeting, over which Paul Bernier acted as moderator. The meeting lasted about half an hour, with a handful of items on the warrant eliciting brief discussions between residents and officials.
One resident asked what the town would do if the fire department needed to exceed its $75,239 annual budget.
In some situations, the board can cover expenses that are slightly higher than anticipated, but would otherwise take the matter to a special town meeting in which residents would approve the increase, Cyr said.
He confirmed that any potential excesses would be covered.
Another resident asked if officials could clarify article 26, which lets the town spend up to 3/12ths of the prior year’s budget from January to March in 2026. This is due to the fact that the town approves the budget for the calendar year in March, but the town still needs money to operate until the town meeting takes place.
“Basically, until the town meeting, we can not spend in 2026 more than 3/12ths of the 2025 appropriation,” Cyr said. “So we can’t spend all our money right up front, but it authorizes the board to spend to pay our bills.”
Overall, the town’s expenditures increased by $80,000, the capital reserve decreased by $56,000, local revenues increased by $44,000 and state reimbursements increased by $21,000, Cyr said.
“The board and budget committee put a lot of effort into optimising the expenditures and revenues,” he said. “A lot of thought has gone into [this]. If there were any increases, they weren’t made arbitrarily.”
