PRESQUE ISLE, Maine – Presque Isle city councilors voted unanimously Wednesday to replace the vacant director of economic and community development position with one for a deputy city manager.
Former director of economic and community development director Galen Weibley left in December, leaving a void within the city, which has seen business growth and expansion in the post-COVID years.
City Manager Tyler Brown proposed that the city change Weibley’s former position to that of a deputy city manager and change the Office of Planning and Development to the Office of Innovation and Development. The deputy city manager would oversee that office and primarily be in charge of long-term projects, such as seeking out grant funds, so that Brown could focus more on day-to-day city operations.
Economic development could still be part of long-term goals, but the deputy manager would focus on the city overall and seek ways to enhance growth by working with various departments, Brown said.
For example, the city typically spends $170,000 on snow removal just on Main Street for the equipment and dump trucks to move snow, but an alternative could involve hiring a company to perform that same work for a lesser price, Brown said.
“The decisions we make today will impact future generations. If we’re mindful of that, we’ll continue to grow and be a more resilient community for the future,” Brown said.
Brown said the city will start advertising for the deputy manager within the next week and hope to have someone in place by Nov. 1.
In December, councilors removed $20,416 in salaries and wages and a $6,243 in benefits from Weibley’s former position for the first quarter of the 2024 city budget. The new deputy manager’s salary will likely depend on the chosen candidate’s qualifications and prior experience, Brown noted.
“There’s certainly an awful lot going on at City Hall right now, and sometimes very difficult for an individual, whether it’s the city manager or department head, to be in more than one meeting at the same time,” said Council Chairperson Kevin Freeman. “And that’s part of where we’re at right now.”
The council also approved taking the “parks” out of the former Recreation and Parks department and calling that department “Recreation.” That makes director Gene Cronin director of recreation.
Last year, the city created a Facilities department that now oversees The Forum and other city-owned property, including parks. But until now, the city had not updated its administration of government policy to indicate the changes, Brown noted.
“The Facilities team takes care of the grounds, and Recreation focuses on programming,” Brown said.
In other business Wednesday, councilors unanimously approved a 21.3 mill rate for 2024, a reduction from last year’s rate of 22.6 mills per $1,000 of property value.
However, some residents will still see their property taxes increase due to changes in state and local property valuations, said City Assessor Lewis Cousins.
This year, the difference between actual sales prices for Presque Isle properties and property values came in at 86 percent, putting the city below the state’s certified ratio of 96 percent for property values.
“We needed to increase our ratio to 96 percent to ensure residents get their full $25,000 Homestead Exemptions and BETE [Business Equipment Tax Exemption] and the city gets full reimbursement from the state,” Cousins said.
Making the city and state’s certified ratio equal inevitably increases some property taxes, but makes home values more equitable and the city’s finances more easily manageable, Cousins said.
Taxes will be due upon receipt of residents’ tax bills. An interest rate of 6 percent for unpaid taxes will begin Oct. 17.
The council unanimously approved the fire department’s request to purchase a new ambulance.
Presque Isle purchased two new ambulances in Jan. 2022 from the Frenchville-based Autotronics, with the first unit arriving in April 2023 and the second one this month. But while speaking with the company, Fire Chief Darrell White learned that they are building another ambulance unit that will be available in November.
If the city waited until 2025 to purchase another ambulance, as it originally planned, they would not receive the ambulance until 2027 after its construction, White said.
The new ambulance will cost $295,000, which includes a $10,000 trade-in for the city’s current Medic 14, currently out of service because of a blown motor. White suggested using $154,899 in ambulance reserve funds and drawing the remaining $130,101 from other reserves, to be replaced in the 2025 budget. The council approved that proposal.
“This would also set us up for getting into a reasonable rotation for [ambulance] replacement, as we would have several years to build up reserves,” White said. “Most [fire departments] try to replace units when they reach six years.”
All councilors voted in favor of contributing $307,000 for preliminary engineering in the Maine Department of Transportation’s Village Partnership Initiative.
Presque Isle is partnering with the DOT to study how to potentially improve city roads and sidewalks for pedestrian traffic. The city’s contribution is a 10-percent match to the initial engineering costs of $3,070,000.
