After a round of cuts totaling more than $1 million, the Presque Isle City Council passed a $20 million budget that will bring an anticipated 0.1 mill rate reduction.
Councilors approved the total budget of $20,016,901 budget during a Dec. 18 meeting.
“I’m very happy to report that after additional conversations with our department heads we are happy to present a flat budget for 2025 for Presque Isle,” City Manager Tyler Brown said. “It has taken quite a bit of time to get here.”
Following a series of workshops and cuts starting in September, the council voted in November to ask department heads to slash another $129,000 from the total budget, which rose largely due to increased costs of insurance and more.
The original proposed budget totaled $21,070,846, with final reductions on Dec. 4 of $1,053,945.
Highlights of budget items include the following: employee benefits, budgeted at $3,240,259, up $456,000 from last year; public works, $2,578,382, down $171,000 from last year; fire department, $2,221,314, up $255,000; police department, $2,072,145, up $281,000; facilities management, $1,248,512, up $438,000; utilities, $824,264, up $48,836; economic and community development, $221,202, down $13,000; and recreation and parks, $703,898, down $16,000.
The city’s debt service is $1,089,549, which is up $79,000 from 2024.
Revenues in 2025 are anticipated at $11,482,785, an increase of $1.3 million over last year.
The list of final budget reductions included $500,000 from public works paving, some of which could be paid for by American Rescue Plan Act funds; $89,000 from general government salaries and services; $60,000 in salt/calcium; $42,000 from maintenance that can be paid for by ARPA money; $32,000 from employee benefits; $25,000 from the Mantle Lake playground; and a $24,000 request from the Children’s Museum of Aroostook County.
When the budget process first began, there was roughly an 11 percent increase over last year, Councilor Craig Green said. The first round of cuts brought it to a 7.5 percent increase, and the latest cuts brought the budget flat.
“There’s not one job loss in the community that’s a necessary job. There’s not one department that got cut, there’s not an infrastructure item that’s gone,” he said.
Councilors voted 4-2 to pass the revised budget, with Darick Williams and Doug Cyr voting against the measure. There was no discussion.
In other business, the council granted a special permit for music, dancing and entertainment to Troy Haney of Caribou, co-owner of Spud Speedway, for activities that will be held in Presque Isle such as the upcoming SnowBowl races.
The next regular meeting is planned at 6 p.m. on Jan. 1.
