By Theron Larkins
Special to the Houlton Pioneer Times
HOULTON — The Houlton Town Council met last Tuesday night to discuss a number of important issues. At the top of the list was the introduction of the proposed 2014 municipal budget.
The town’s spending plan for the upcoming year is the primary document that establishes the overall plan for revenues and expenditures, services to be provided, and any changes in the operating procedures of the town. The charter directs that it be presented to the Council at its first regular meeting in November.
The budget will now be considered by the Board of Budget Review. At these meetings, which started on Nov. 18, the Board will examine the overall budget and make recommendations to town councilors. The Council will eventually hold a public hearing on the budget, before voting to adopt it.
The budget is comprised of three budget requests: the municipal budget that funds town services, the SAD 29 budget that funds the town’s portion of their budget, and the County of Aroostook budget.
The proposed 2014 budget contains a number of challenges for the Council to manage. Most importantly, there is virtually no capital budget based on Houlton’s five-year capital plan. Each year, staff budgets for a number of capital items such as vehicles, computers, and building repairs/upgrades. In the newly proposed budget only $800 is included for computer purchases, while no other capital items have been funded.
For 2014, the school board is likely looking at a further increase in property taxes. These are based solely on the town’s estimates, but the increase may be a minimum of $115,770. This will increase property taxes for the SAD to a total of $2,387,520.
The Maine legislature also made major reductions to revenue sharing. In 2013, the town saw a loss of $118,825. This year revenue sharing is due to drop from $481,175 to $368,000, for an additional loss of $113,175.
Houlton’s share of the county budget is estimated to increase from $307,951 to $315,000, but as with the budget of the SAD, town leaders have no direct influence on the county or school budgets.
In addition to the budget figures, there are several other topics related to the budget and include, among others, debt service of the town, a review of the existing tax-increment financing districts, the current five-year capital plan, and outside agency requests.
The 5-year capital plan is highlighted by a number of revenue streams detailed below:
• Vehicle excise taxes are projected to stay at the current level of $815,000.
• A request has been made to Houlton Water Company to increase their annual dividend payment by $5,000 to the town, bringing the new total to $35,000.
• The Cable TV franchise fee is decreased by $1,000 to $34,000.
• Several small revenue lines in the Police Department have been increased.
• Ambulance revenues are expected to remain at the level of $1,100,000.
• Building permit fees have been reduced from $30,000 to $10,000 due to limited growth projections for 2014.
• Millar Civic Center concessions have been decreased by about $6,500 to reflect anticipated actual sales.
• Airport income is increased due to anticipated sales of Aviation Gas 100 and Jet A fuel. An additional $7,236 is recommended to come from the Airport Reserve account to a total of $18,345 to help cover additional operating costs.
In other business:
• Councilors approved Appendix C- Housing Maximums with a vote of 5-0.
• Members appointed councilors John White and Wade Hanson as members to the Shiretown Development Corporation Board of Directors for three-year terms. Vote was unanimous.
• Councilors voted, 5-0, to authorize Town Manager Eugene Conlogue to apply for financial assistance under provisions of the Bureau of Parks and Recreation Snowmobile Fund for the maintenance of the Town of Houlton’s Snowmobile System.
• Councilors approved the application for a permit to operate a taxi by Leigh Dow, d/b/a Dow’s Taxi.
• Adopted an increased fee schedule for the Houlton Police Department to be effective 1/1/2014.
The budget introduction is only the first step of many before the 2014 budget is approved for the upcoming fiscal year. The town and county budgets operate on a calendar year basis while the SAD 29 fiscal year runs from July 1, 2013 to June 30, 2014. This means the school budget will not be determined until June 2014. County Commissioners are currently in their budget process and the town should receive their bill by the time the municipal budget is adopted in early January.
