CARIBOU, Maine — Three months after approving the 2025-2026 municipal budget, the Caribou City Council on Monday approved just over $1 million in further cuts.
Reductions have been ongoing since March, when the council passed the $12.5 million budget.
But a projected $1.2 million shortfall was expected to raise Caribou’s tax rate by 2.5 mills. Higher Aroostook County and RSU 39 school commitments would increase it by another 1.7 mills. With pressure from taxpayers, the council last month called for more reductions. The latest cutbacks should keep the municipal tax rate flat, Deputy Mayor Jody Smith said.
“I think with that, we can achieve this [and] on the city side of this keep the mill rate the same,” Deputy Mayor Jody Smith said. “We’re not going to lay anybody off here. There are some vacant positions that we may not fill.”
The original budget was proposed in February at $12.9 million, with capital requests of $1.9 million and anticipated revenue of $12.2 million. Councilors voted later that month to reduce capital expenses by $900,000, and asked department heads to cut 10 percent.
There were no public comments during a March public hearing, and that night the council voted to pass the reduced $12.5 million budget.
Upon news that the county and school budgets signaled a 1.7 mill rate increase, which combined with city projections would equal a 4.2 mill hike, councilors debated ways to reduce the city’s part of the tax burden. In May the group asked City Manager Penny Thompson to work with department heads to cut another $1 million.
Thompson and city officials proposed various reductions in salaries, health insurance, uniforms, fuel, janitorial services, office supplies, training and capital expenses that would result in savings of $733,698.
A breakdown of the recommended cuts includes: general government and employee expenses, $22,716; Nylander Museum, $5,500; Aroostook Waste Services, $6,862; General Assistance, $3,000; tax assessment, $64,000; Caribou Public Library, $29,200; Caribou Fire and Ambulance, $136,738; Caribou Police, $119,797; emergency management, $9,647; public works, $301,913; recreation and parks, $26,500; insurance and retirement, $5,000; and property tax abatement, $2,000.
Financial reserves of $308,318 will further offset expenses, including $194,791 from a 2021 tax relief reserve account and $46,039 from other reserve accounts. An additional $67,488 will come from the city’s remaining federal American Rescue Plan Act fund balance, which councilors had voted in September to use for police wages, Thompson said.
In total, the cuts and funding additions will save the city $1.04 million.
“I think, regardless of how we feel, by sharing that burden equally, as opposed to ‘you get this’ and ‘you get that,’ it’s a shared weight that we all pull together, which in turn will make it easier for us to bear,” Councilor Paul Watson said.
Councilors unanimously approved the reductions.
The group also introduced a proposed medical cannabis dispensary ordinance, crafted by Councilor Jennifer Kelley. The ordinance would allow medical cannabis business Richardson Remedies to continue operating in Caribou.
The business is a registered medical cannabis caregiver, but a new definition in Maine’s Medical Use of Cannabis Act now classifies it as a retail store. Because Caribou has never approved cannabis retail stores, Richardson Remedies’ ability to operate was in question.
Customers spoke up for the business in April, and in May, after wrangling with legal ramifications of the state ruling, the council voted to allow owner Derrell Richardson to continue operating until the issue was sorted.
The proposed ordinance would permit only two medical dispensaries to operate in Caribou, Richardson Remedies and Safe Alternatives. Safe Alternatives opened eight years ago as Aroostook’s first dispensary.
The ordinance requires, among other points, that the dispensaries must be compliant with local building codes and state cannabis regulations. If either business were to stop operating for a year, the city would revoke its permission to operate.
No adult-use marijuana businesses would be allowed within the city.
Councilors voted to send the ordinance to the Maine Municipal Association and to city attorney Richard Solman to examine legal aspects.
A public hearing on the ordinance will be held at 6 p.m. on July 28.
In other business, councilors recognized four city employees for their years of service: Peter Baldwin, library director, five years; Thompson, city manager, 15 years; Matt Bouchard, director of recreation, 20 years; and Gary Marquis, recreation and parks superintendent, 30 years.
The city will also hold another budget validation vote for the RSU 39 school budget. Caribou residents overwhelmingly rejected the proposed spending plan on June 10, with 146 voting yes and 443 voting no.
The process will start again with a school board meeting on Monday, June 23, followed by a district budget meeting on Tuesday, July 1, and the election on Tuesday, July 8.
The council will meet next at 6 p.m. on Monday, June 30.
