FORT KENT, Maine — Fort Kent voters approved a $6.9 million budget during the town’s annual meeting on Tuesday night.
The figure is about $220,000 lower than last year’s $7.1 million budget.
About 40 residents turned out for the session. Earlier in the day, elections were held at the town office to fill a seat on the Fort Kent Town Council.
Franklin “Leroy” McKenzie was elected for a three-year term with a total of 148 votes. His opponent, John Bouchard, received 73 votes. A total of 221 ballots were cast in the election.
McKenzie will replace Joey Ouellette, whose term expires at the end of the month.
Residents offered little discussion, but did ask for clarification about some warrant articles.
One resident asked why the town’s administrative costs increased from $672,945 to $724,218. Town Manager Suzie Paradis said numerous factors contributed, including a 3% cost of living increase, a 9% health insurance increase and higher electricity costs. The town also hired a finance assistant, Paradis said.
Another resident asked to increase the amount allocated to the town library, which is significantly lower than other departments at just $42,000. The meeting moderator, David Soucy, said motions can only be made to decrease, not increase, budget items at the annual town meeting.
Voters approved a date change on the warrant from “2025 tax year” to “2026 tax year.”
Additional revenues were a primary factor contributing to this year’s lower budget. The town forecasts revenues of $3.2 million, a significant increase over last year’s $2.86 million.
The fund balance increased from $2.6 million to $2.9 million due in part to revenue sharing, excise taxes and other municipal revenue sources. Other departments, including administration, parks and recreation and public works, also saw revenue increases.
This year’s expense budget was $4.9 million, up from $4.5 million last year. The budget includes an estimated increase of the town’s portion of Aroostook County tax, from $602,072 to $737,639, which is up $135,567.
The budget estimates that the MSAD 27 budget, which includes Fort Kent and surrounding towns, will remain at $3.8 million.
MSAD 27 was one of several school districts last year that was forced to set multiple budgets after voters rejected their initial proposal. MSAD 27 issued revisions, each lower than the last, but the town had to meet a deadline to commit taxes before the school set its third and final budget. The final iteration of the school budget went down by an additional $86,905, resulting in a surplus that the town can only apply toward the school budget.
Based on the current budget and the county and school estimates, the town may see a mill rate of 23.12 this year, a .73 reduction over the current mill rate of 23.85. This could change, however, depending on the actual budgets set by the county and school later this year.
