Taxes on the rise in Houlton

HOULTON, Maine — Taxpayers in Houlton may see a slight bump in their property tax bill this year after the Town Council learned Monday evening that the town reports have been published, with a full audit inserted.
“We have completed our tax commitment for this year,” Town Manager Doug Hazlett said. “The only time that requires any vote of the council is if we are using fund balance to offset part of the tax commitment, which we are not doing this year. It appears the mill rate will be 18.95, which is up slightly from last year.
    “The primary driver of that [increase], frankly, is the need to get money set aside for the school costs that are going up,” he continued. “The action they took [at last month’s SAD 29 budget meeting] saved us a significantly higher increase. I’m a little worried about what is going to happen next year when they do that. But, we will see what happens. Either way, the tax bills will be out shortly. We are satisfied to see the mill rate stay as stable as it has been.”
The mill rate is up about one-half of a mill from last year, which means that a homeowner with property assessed at $100,000 will see a $50 increase in their tax bill.
In other agenda items, councilors accepted a low bid of $62, 391.56 from Newman Electric of Ludlow for lighting upgrades in seven municipal buildings. The effort is partially-funded by Efficiency Maine Trust, which was received to improve the cost effectiveness and efficiency of our lighting in all of the town’s buildings, including the Cary Library.
“There were three bids that we received,” said Hazlett. “This one, plus one for $65,163 and another for $66,873. The town’s share of this will be about $9,000 and we have that budgeted through this year. It’s going to be quite a challenge, there are a lot of lights to replace in all these buildings, but we look forward to getting this started.
“I believe the payback on this through the lighting alone at its full value, including the grant amount, is something on the order of three or four years. So, it is a major savings,” added Hazlett.
Councilor Sue Tortello noted that the three bids on this project were “all competitive and what was really gratifying was that they were all local contractors,” she said. Tortello also found it pleasing that when the town put out for bid the project that they were able to “generate some local business.”
Also, the council approved a new gymnasium floor replacement at the Gentle Memorial Building. The recreational gymnasium is need of repair and $51,800 was approved by the council to hire Space Design Systems of Kennebunk to do the work.
According to Hazlett there were two bids placed, with Space Design Systems having the low bid compared to a firm in Massachusetts that came in at $62,100.
“This is quite a bit lower actually than what we had anticipated bids coming in,” Hazlett added, “which is probably going to be a good thing because as we started looking [at the project] we are going to have to replace the bleachers because they are not in the best of shape to begin with. I think once we remove them, it’s going to be very hard to get them back. We will deal with that on a separate issue.”
“It’s been a long time coming this project,” said chairman Walter Goodrich.
Councilor Brian Donnelly asked Hazlett if the bleachers would be considered a stand alone project or if this same firm would complete the full project. Hazlett noted it would be a separate bid for the bleachers.
Councilor Nancy Ketch questioned if the savings of the initial project were enough to cover the bleacher installation or whether Hazlett knew how much the cost would be.
“This bid came in low enough that between the money we have set aside this year and the money that is already in the reserve account from three years ago, we should have ample funds,” he said.
“Even though it’s over $50,000, I think is definitely much needed,” said Councilor John White, Jr. “It should have been done years ago probably, but it is good we can finally get it done, mostly for safety reasons.”
“That’s what I am hearing too,” Hazlett added.
Councilors sound off on SAD 29
During the councilor remarks portion of the meeting, two councilors took the opportunity to take aim at the SAD 29 school board. Councilor Mike Jenkins targeted the recently approved 2011-12 school budget as a major hindrance in the town’s ability to keep tax bills from rising.
“The only way we are going to control any spending is to do it from our end,” he said. “I don’t see the school board stepping up to help the taxpayers in any of the district’s towns. They keep talking about a fictitious cliff that is coming and they don’t seem to realize they have already gone off it.”
He added he felt the district was “padding” its budget by including positions that have not yet been voted upon.
“Usually when you do a budget, you decide what you are going to do before [you vote on the budget],” he said. “If you aren’t going to do it, you don’t need that money in your budget. I don’t believe that they have the best interest of all the towns concerned. The towns are going to suffer making up the difference due to the lack of attention by the school board.”
Jenkins said that one of the positions the district was considering — an elementary school guidance counselor — was not needed, in his opinion.
“I don’t think the taxpayers of Houlton need to be getting into the counseling business, nor should SAD 29,” he said. “The state and federal government provide counseling. We as a district don’t need to be in that business.”
Councilor White stated he agreed with Phil Bernaiche and expressed frustration on the voting hours that were held for the public referendum on the school budget.
“I work out of town and I didn’t make it back into town in time to vote ‘no’,” he said.
Jenkins also spoke of the fireworks display in downtown Houlton July 1. While he felt they were a draw to the area, he felt the Greater Houlton Chamber of Commerce should foot the bill for the pyrotechnics in the future.
“It was a great activity and a big draw, and we can help them out, but I think the retailers in the town might want to chip in a little,” he said. “I have talked to a couple of store owners and they said they would be willing to do that. I don’t want to set a precedent that the town of Houlton is going to pay for fireworks for Midnight Madness every year.”
In other agenda items:
• The council approved a liquor license renewals for the Vault Restaurant and the Taste of China.
• The council approved catering privileges at the John Millar Civic Center to Majals Cooperation for weddings on Aug. 6 and Sept. 17.
• The council approved the town manager entering into a three-year lease agreement with York’s of Houlton for $311 monthly payment on a used 2011 Toyota Camry LE. The town reimburses employees 50 cents a mile when they use their own personal vehicles for work-related trips.
“This is a move we are doing to save travel expense money,” Hazlett said. “Frankly it doesn’t work for the employee. You aren’t making money on that by the time you get done buying gas and maintenance on your car. And, frankly, it’s an expense across the board for the town.”
Hazlett said the monthly lease fee is roughly equivalent to a round-trip to Augusta.
“Having this vehicle will save us somewhere between $2,700 and $3,000 a year because we are no longer going to reimburse for mileage,” he said. When the car needs gas, it can be filled up at the Town Garage, which is much cheaper than retail, Hazlett noted.
“There will be rules written around this,” he explained. “It will be parked right here at the town office and it will only be allowed to be used for official town trips. If it doesn’t work, it’s a leased vehicle and we are not out anything. If it does work, I will report back to you on the savings and we will see that in the budget come this fall.”
Councilor White noticed the insurance was not included within the figures mentioned by the town manager, which Hazlett said would be $200 to $300 a year at the most.
White also said in the comparison that the town manager used, last year 16,800 miles and with a lease the mileage is less.
“I don’t think we will do the full 16,000,” Hazlett said, who felt even if the vehicle went over the leased miles, the mileage charge would be fairly low. He said the car mileage would be tracked closely and he would report back to council on its use and “for every mile it’s used that is .50 cents we are not paying,” Hazlett said. “We can accumulate and measure it as it goes on.”
White thought a retired Houlton Police Department cruiser would be more savings for the town.
“It could, except by the time we get rid of police cruisers, they are not worth much,” Hazlett responded. “Over 100,000 miles and the maintenance cost is a killer, especially if you are taking them to Augusta. It’s a reliability issue.”
The agreement passed by a vote of 5-1.
• Council authorized the town manager to waive the bid procedure to purchase a radio electronics shed funded by the Homeland Security Grant.
The metal-grounded shed, which costs $11,000, has all of the internal components necessary for the new radio systems. The cost is covered by grant funds.
“The most economical way to buy it is in a kit over the Internet,” Hazlett explained. “That would make bidding it very difficult. My fear would be if you are bidding it, I doubt there is anyone who could build something unqiue like this for this purpose. And a regular shed just wouldn’t meet the requirement.”
Councilor Nancy Ketch expressed public condolences to the family of Dan Tracy, a businessman who recently passed away. She noted that Tracy did a lot of printing for a lot of communities and it is a loss to the community. “But, they are working on keeping the business going,” she said.
Ketch also had the privilege of presenting Houlton Rotary’s Paul Harris Fellow award to a town employee. The Rotary Club recognized Marie Carmichael of the Houlton Parks and Recreation Department.
“It is well-deserved,” Ketch said. “The award recognizes her commitment to the children in the community and all that she does above and beyond her job.”
The next regular meeting of the Houlton Town Council will be held Monday, July 25 at 6:30 p.m.