Windham’s municipal and school budgets of 2005-2006 passed the scrutiny of the 106 residents that attended Windham’s Annual Town Meeting, held this year in the Windham High School auditorium on Saturday. All 24 articles of the town warrant received the majority vote needed to pass.
“I think they did a good job on the budget,” said Elden McKeen of Montgomery Road.
Though the municipal and school budgets did increase by roughly 11 percent and 9.3 percent respectively, the property tax rate is expected to decrease by about $1.10, from $19.00 to $17.90 per thousand.
Former Town Councilor Gordon Browne spoke out against the budgets at the town meeting, saying that more money should have been given back to the taxpayers. Brown said that Governor Baldacci, before the LD1 tax cap and EPS legislation was enacted, promised that 90 percent of state aid would be returned to the taxpayers. For this fiscal year, the state gave an additional $3.56 million in aid to Windham to help offset the cost of education and provide property tax relief as part of the new legislation. Of that amount, only $1.3 million was used to provide tax relief, said Brown.
“The government promised us that 90 percent of that money would be returned to the taxpayers,” Brown said. “$3.4 million should be returned and we’re only getting $1.3 million.”
Assistant Superintendent Donn Davis said that $2.6 million of the $3.5 million in additional funds went to debt service for school projects, including a belated state contribution for past renovations of the Windham High School.
Brown, however, contended that due to the influx of state aid, the Town Council and School Board had no “compelling reason to cut costs.” Brown said that during the three years he was on the council, the average municipal budget inflation was 4.8 percent in contrast to the 11 percent this year. He attributes this reduced increase to the former council’s use of a mathematical formula known as a RBB (Revenue-Based Budgeting) system. Town Manager Anthony Plante said the RBB system has been replaced by the state-mandated LD1 and EPS formulas used to calculate the yearly effect these programs have on municipal and school budgets.
“The state adopted something very similar to what Windham had been using for years,” Plante said of the new formulas as they related to the old RBB system.
Before the Town Council, School Board and voters in attendance, Brown urged a “no” vote on both the municipal and school budgets at the meeting. But the residents, as a majority, decided differently. In the end, they approved both the municipal and school budgets, bringing an end to months of budget deliberations.
State Senator Bill Diamond, who voted at the town meeting Saturday, commended the Town Council and School Board for their efforts. Diamond said that some towns, like Saco, spent all their state funding given to them and still raised taxes.
“I was impressed by the work the Town Council and School Board did,” Diamond said. “I think they deserve our appreciation for returning money to the taxpayers.”
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