Scarborough property owners will see about a 4% increase in their tax bills under the $82.1 million combined municipal and school budget the Town Council passed Wednesday.
The council voted 6-1, with Councilor Don Hamill against, to approve the $22.8 million municipal budget and send the $54.3 million school budget out for voter approval June 27.
Under the budget, the property tax rate will increase 61 cents from $15.39 to $16 per $1,000 of assessed value. The owner of a home assessed at $400,000 will pay $6,400 in taxes next year, $244 more than this year, according to Town Manager Tom Hall.
The school budget is up 4.4% over this year’s budget, due largely to a $1.8 million increase in salaries, a $500,000 increase in health insurance costs and an additional $388,000 for English Language Learning and literacy support. Overall, personnel costs make up just over 80% of the budget.
Other budget drivers identified by the school department are the end of federal pandemic-related funding and the need to address learning gaps and a rise in students’ social and emotional issues as a result of the pandemic.
The municipal portion of the budget is up 5.6% and accounts for $780,000 in wage increases, a $100,000 health insurance increase, a $240,000 increase in fuel costs, and a $135,000 increase in electricity.
Hamill sought a budget with a 3% tax increase, which the council set as a goal this year.
“I think (the recommendation) is a respectable budget, probably an acceptable budget, but I think we have more work to do, particularly in view of what’s coming forward in terms of potential investments involving additional debt,” Hamill said, referring to a proposed school project and upcoming plans for a community center.
The finance committee provided “a pathway” to achieve the smaller tax increase of 3% ahead of Wednesday’s meeting, but it would require a significant amount of cuts, said Councilor John Cloutier, chairperson of the finance committee.
The council voted 6-1 against bringing the tax increase down to 3%.
Cloutier and other councilors emphasized the number of other goals the $82.1 million budget meets, including work to improve transportation and traffic flow and strategic planning for big projects on the horizon.
Councilor Karin Shupe noted that the tax increase usually winds up being lower than what is passed by the council.
“We’re sitting here tonight saying 3.96%, but that is a guess,” Shupe said. “Consistently, we’ve come in as a council, I understand, high … then the assessor comes in and says ‘guess what, we have more money,’ and it winds up being lower.”
Shupe and other councilors said tax increases in recent years have been below 3%, and given inflation, the end of emergency federal funding and the number of needs to address across the community, any tax rate just below 4% is a pill they believe can be swallowed.
Voting on the school budget will take place at the Scarborough High School Alumni Gym at 11 Municipal Drive from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. June 27.
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