City budget proposal eyes mill rate hike

Eastport's mill rate is projected to increase by about 6.5% to $23.21 per $1,000 in real estate value if the current draft of the fiscal year 2013 budget is approved by the city council in June. The previous year's mill rate was $21.80. The mill rate cannot actually be set by the tax assessor until the budget has been approved, but both City Manager Jon Southern and Assessor Robert Scott felt that their estimate was very close to what the mill rate would be unless the budget is adjusted significantly.
All five city councillors met for a budget workshop on May 21 to review the proposed budget but decided that an additional workshop will be needed to go over the results of a meeting that Southern was expected to have with the city's auditor on Thursday, May 24. That meeting will be to determine what carryover, if any, may exist. "If I've read the budget correctly we have a $39,000 surplus," Southern told the council. The school board has told the council that it believes there is a $270,000 balance that should be brought forward for the school budget. Southern said that the auditor explained that "it's there in an ideal world if everyone paid their taxes." He added, "I have not put it in the budget because I do not know if we have it."
The total budget for fiscal year 2013 would be $4,407,450, down by 2% from last year's budget. But total revenues are down too by $261,607, to a total of $1,536,841. The city's property valuation is up by $869,474 for a total of $124,000,000. Scott noted that the city is running at 92% of market value. "The state would love to see us at 100%."
The city manager explained that the city is pressed to come up with revenue. He told the council that 300 lien notices had just been sent out to property owners and that there were a number of property owners contributing to payment plans who were eight or nine years behind. He noted that while there may be about 2,200 people living in the city during the summer, there are at most 1,350 people year‑round with an average household income of $24,000.
The budget committee and the city manager worked to chisel away at the budget with decreases found in most sections of the budget. Under the current budget proposal, municipal operations are down $35,513 for a total of $1,1026,414; municipal programs are down $35,567 for a total of $720,023; the total education budget is down by $20,797 for a total of $2,250,275. City employees will be asked to split health insurance costs at an 85/15 rate. Councillor David Morang noted that in most business situations the standard is a 60/40 split for full‑time employees. When Southern countered that those business environments paid corporate level salaries, Morang shook his head and said, "No, they're not." Southern thought that the rate might go to an 80/20 split in another year or so. He added that this was the third year without a pay raise for employees. "That can't keep up forever."
Employee salaries are proposed as follows: administration -- city manager, $54,496; city clerk, $33,280; treasurer, $33,280; administrative assistant/front desk, $12,480; CEO/assessor, $31,200; part‑time office clerk, $13,728; public works -- supervisor, $37,440; staff member, $14,560; full‑time staff member, $24,960; overtime, $15,000; police -- chief, $42,000; full‑time staff members, $141,960; part‑time, $10,000; overtime, $9,750; cemetery -- supervisor, $12,000; worker, $11,000; fire and rescue -- chief, $4,000; assistant chief, $2,500; volunteers, $13,000; air tank volunteer, $500. Health insurance ranged by department from $32,232 for administration, $43,857 for public works and $57,048 for the police department.
Services the city pays for include: $16,000, streetlights; $101,000, ambulance service; $175,000, solid waste; $247,404 for hydrant rental. Southern noted that the hydrant rental fees are very high. "At some point we are going to have to tackle this." He said that Machias and Lubec hydrant fees are lower than Eastport's, but until the city's residents began attending the water district board meetings it was unlikely that solutions to the high fees would change.
The city has $40,000 in its reserve account for emergencies. Southern was concerned about the level of this amount saying, "Most towns this size would have a $200,000 reserve." Dealing with any kind of emergency could wipe out the reserve very easily, he said.

Considering the fireworks ordinance
The council will hold a second budget workshop on Thursday, May 31, at 6 p.m. at the Shead band room, to be followed by a special council meeting to go over whether councillors wish to rescind their vote to hold a public hearing on a fireworks ordinance at the Thursday, June 14, council meeting. Southern explained that he was reluctant to pay to have the ordinance published, as required by law, when he had been told by four councillors that they would vote against it. Council President Robert Peacock remarked that it might make more sense to wait until the fall to review how the city fared over the summer with the new state fireworks law and formulate an ordinance at that point, if it was felt to be needed.