LISBON — The municipal budget is coming in lower than anticipated as the Town Council prepares for one of two public meetings, the first of which will be held at 7 p.m. Tuesday, May 5, at Lisbon Community School.
The proposed municipal budget of $7.3 million for 2015-16 is down from the current year’s budget, and is below the council’s expectations of a flat budget, according to Town Manager Diane Barnes.
Because of the way previous town budgets were handled, it is difficult to compare the current budget to the proposed budget, Barnes said. The new budget is less than the current year’s by more than $300,000.
The mill rate is still unknown because a property revaluation has yet to be completed, Barnes said. But because of the reduced municipal budget and no expected increase in the town’s share of the education budget as proposed, taxpayers should see no increase in taxes, Barnes said.
The proposed local share of the school budget is just under $5.69 million, meeting the council’s request for a flat budget.
Major changes to the education budget include appropriating $143,395 from the capital reserve fund for several things, including about $42,000 for technology repairs and about $58,000 for school building maintenance, Superintendent Richard Green said.
He said townspeople asked for buildings to be repaired with whatever money was left over. “That’s how the capital reserve came about,” he said. Expenditures from the capital reserve fund must get Town Council approval.
Also in the school budget is $304,551 from the current gym project, available because the project came in under bid. This will be used to pay down debt service on the gym, schools Business Manager Cathy Messmer said. The item is one of the articles that will be voted on.
Some members of the council are questioning whether the funds left over from the gym project can and should be used to pay down the debt service before the project is complete.
The project to date is $502,438 under budget. If $304,551 is approved to pay down the debt service, about $200,000 would still be available for potential overruns.
Townspeople can ask questions of the Town Council and School Committee at the upcoming public hearings. A second meeting will be held at 7 p.m. Tuesday, May 12, at the Town Office. The council will vote on the budget following that meeting.
The public will vote on a new education budget on June 9, with polls open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. People in Ward 2 will place their votes at the MTM Community Center; those in Ward 1 will vote in the superintendent’s office gymnasium.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
