AUBURN — The city’s property tax rate will be about 20 cents higher than councilors approved in June.
City Manager Clinton Deschene said Monday that reductions in taxable business property and the set-aside account for property tax abatements ended up trimming the city’s assessed value. While the budget councilors adopted in June didn’t change, the reduced value means individual property taxes will go up about $30 on a $150,000 home.
The new property tax rate will be $20.95 per $1,000 of property value, and that’s a tax bill of about $3,142.50 for a $150,000 home.
Councilors also agreed to set the due dates for property taxes on Sept. 15 and March 16, 2015.
Councilors learned earlier this month that a $20 million reduction in business and personal property values in Auburn will likely push the city’s 2014-15 property tax rate up from the $20.75 councilors approved in June. The budget approved in June already increased property taxes by $48 on a $150,000 home.
Deschene said the increase came as the state phases out the business equipment tax, exempting more and more business property each year.
Resident Joe Gray said the city should have seen that coming.
“It’s been coming for seven years, so it should not have come as a surprise,” he said. “It’s a little late to come to the party with a surprise like this. It’s really irritating.”
Councilors were also unable to settle on a capital improvement bond package.
They had approved a $7.6 million bond issue on first reading earlier this month that did away with $624,000 in projects and purchases. It cuts the road reconstruction budget by $200,000, from $1.1 million to $900,000; it reduces the road resurfacing budget by $100,000, from $1 million to $900,000; it eliminates a $25,000 New Auburn Fire station generator; cuts property acquisitions from $400,000 to $350,000; reduces softball field maintenance by $12,000; and eliminates a $255,000 front end loader.
On Monday, they tried to trim another $50,000 for an electronic road sign for public works and a switch for a generator in New Auburn’s Fire Station.
With Councilor David Young absent Monday, councilors split 3-3 and Mayor Jonathan LaBonte refused to break the tie.
“I challenged councilors, suggesting they make motions to get to something that they had an appetite for,” LaBonte said. “This is the consequence of not making compromise is this failure.”
The bond package includes all road repairs for the next year and money for purchasing new equipment.
Councilor Adam Lee, who voted against the bond, moved to reconsider his vote and councilors agreed to bring it back on the table. Lee quickly moved to table the matter and councilors agreed. They’ll take it up again Sept. 8.
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