To the editor:
The 3,846 registered voters in the town of Houlton have an important opportunity.
At the District Budget Validation Referendum election on June 11, we will be asked to vote on the budget amount approved by the 55 voters who attended the District Budget Meeting held on May 21. The outcome will determine the cost our town will pay to fund RSU 29 and Adult Education for the 2013-14 school year.
The overall budget amount we will be voting on has increased very little since last year. Yet once again, the cost burden passed on to the district towns is not nearly as modest. Over the last three years, school costs for the RSU 29 towns have jumped 31.8 percent. This year, our municipalities are being asked to pay 8.7 percent more to fund the school than they were 12 months ago. Increases of this magnitude are difficult for towns to absorb year after year without forcing a tax increase. Raising taxes is especially hard to justify when an independent audit shows the school has an undesignated fund balance of $1.7 million in addition to $375,000 in carry-over funding from last year which they are unwilling to tap into for tax relief.
Houlton’s share of this increase is $185,915.35. This amount is equivalent to the revenue generated by raising the mil rate from 19.95 to 20.61. Put another way, it translates into a tax increase of $66 for a Houlton property valued at $100,000. Property worth $50,000 would see a $33 increase.
On June 11, we will also be asked if we wish to continue with the budget validation process. A vote of “yes” on this question means the school budget will be determined at the polls for an additional three years. If the budget validation process is denied, the budget will be determined at the District Budget Meeting. If that had been the case this year, your tax rate could have been decided by as few as 55 people.
The District Budget Validation Referendum election will be held Tuesday, June 11, 2013. Voting will take place in Houlton from 8 a.m.-8 p.m. at the Gentle Memorial Building.
Sue Tortello
Houlton
