Council preps for tough budget talks

    HOULTON, Maine — Intense municipal budget discussions may be a couple of months away, but that did not stop the Houlton Town Council from meeting with department heads and representatives from SAD 29 Monday evening.
With about 14 people in the audience, including many members of the town’s Board of Budget Review committee, the group spent nearly two hours discussing plans for the next spending plan.
    “As we all know the upcoming year will be a tough budget for the town and its departments,” Council chairman Paul Cleary said. “We thought it would be a good idea to meet with the department heads and (new town manager) Gene (Conlogue) to get some ideas for our next budget cycle.”
Cleary said the meeting was merely an informal discussion on each department in the town, to see if there were any pressing needs in those departments, as well as to ascertain if there were any areas that could be reduced.
“We as a council, and you as department heads, need to be able to live with the budget,” he continued. “One of the things that we said to Gene that didn’t scare him away was over the next six months was a tough budget for the town.”
Town Treasurer Nedra Hanson said the town’s revenues are “a little bit lower than we predicted, but it’s early.”
“Hopefully the state revenue sharing will come in at where we anticipate it will be,” she said. “Our ambulance revenue is a little bit low, but not bad enough that I am worried. Excise tax revenue has been up. Those are our big issues.”
This year, the mil rate is 19.95. In 2011, the rate was 18.95, while in 2010 it was 18.45 and in 2009 it was 19.25. The mil rate reflects the cost per $1,000 of assessed property values. For example, for a home assessed at $100,000 the tax bill for 2012 was $1,995.
“We had to raise the mil rate this year, and it’s something we can hopefully avoid next year,” Cleary said. “If we do have to raise it, though, at least we can say that we have had meetings to try and figure out ways to help the budget.”
Increased fuel costs were a common theme throughout the night as the town is bracing for higher fuel bills this coming heating season.
Public Works Director Leigh Stilwell told the board he now has 12 employees (eight men on the road crew, two mechanics, himself and an assistant) compared to the 26 employees the town once had in the department back in the 1980s.
Lori Weston, economic and community development director, said the amount of Community Development Block Grants has declined from the state, making them more and more competitive. This in turn has prompted her to search out different funding sources.
The Houlton Police Department drew considerable discussion. Chief Butch Asselin said his department currently has 14 full-time officers (including the chief); four full-time dispatchers; one secretary and three part-time staff members.
“We do have one of the bigger budgets for the town of Houlton,” Asselin admitted. “And 84 percent of my budget is personnel costs. Based on a population of 6,400 people in Houlton, the cost (of the police department) is $148 per capita. I didn’t think that was bad, but I have not done a cost comparison to other towns.”
A suggestion of reducing the dispatching department, and having the Aroostook County Sheriff’s Department pick up the extra calls was briefly discussed. Asselin said he felt maintaining a place for individuals to come in to 24 hours a day was a much-needed service for the town. That service would be lost if a portion of the dispatching was sent elsewhere, plus the County would then charge an additional fee, which could negate any cost savings, Asselin said.
In 2011, the dispatching center, which also transmits calls for the Houlton Fire and Ambulance departments, had 24,835 calls.
Some discussion also centered on the town’s fire department and whether two full-time firefighters were needed at the station at all times. Houlton Fire Chief Milton Cone said the two full-timers were each needed to drive emergency vehicles to scenes.
The town has 6.5 full-time firefighter/drivers, a full-time chief, and 22 paid volunteer firefighters.
Lauren Asselin, Houlton’s tax collector, said 82 foreclosures notice were sent out this year, which compared to the same amount a year ago. A total of 192 liens were placed on properties, which was also comparable to a year ago, she said.
Marie Carmichael, recreation director, said the Gentle Memorial Building has seen an increase in rentals for activities such as birthday parties. There are 40 youth recreation programs and six to eight adult programs that bring in revenue to the town.
SAD 29 Superintendent Mike Hammer said he welcomed the opportunity to work closely with the town on ways the two groups could share expenses or services. He suggested the two groups could share fuel purchasing to perhaps get a lower overall rate per gallon. He also said the custodial staff could assist at the Millar Civic Center, if needed, for activities like putting up or taking down the hockey boards.
Because the two budgets do not follow the same cycle — the municipal budget follows a calendar year (January-December) while the school budget operates on a July-June basis — the impact of the school’s spending to the town’s mil rate is difficult to pinpoint.
The town will begin its budget discussions in earnest in the coming months.