HOULTON, Maine — Maine State Sen. Trey Stewart, R-Aroostook, told Houlton Town Council Monday night that the state has more than $800 million in its supplemental budget, and what will happen with it has not been determined.
Stewart attended the meeting to address any questions or concerns the councilors might have.
“Effectively, the state has almost a billion dollars of unanticipated revenues beyond what was allocated for in last year’s budget that was passed,” he said. “Everything is funded, we just effectively have too much cash right now, and what we are going to do with those funds is a question that remains to be seen.”
Stewart said this was money generated from normal state operations, adding that the whole two-year budget was for about $8 billion, and the estimate had been off by roughly 10 percent. Although he could not recall having seen an estimate off by that much during his time in office, he was unsure if the surplus was unique in the state’s history.
“I would like to see some form of offsetting of inflation, if there’s a way to get those funds back to folks, because as you know, we’re paying more for things right now, and I think we’re going to continue to, whether it’s for gas or food at the grocery store,” he said.
Stewart said his caucus would be advocating to use the money for some kind of offset, but that other lawmakers’ caucuses would be vying for the funds to be used in other ways.
“It’s tough to say what it’s going to be like right now until we can actually see ink on paper with a proposal before us, but I expect that will be out pretty soon from the governor’s office,” he said.
Council secretary Sue Tortello noted that the Maine Municipal Association had recently published a list of bills that were of interest to municipalities, and eight were written by Stewart.
In other business, the council unanimously affirmed a five-year airport general consultant agreement for engineering services at Houlton International Airport from Stantec Consulting Services. Councilors also unanimously accepted a donation of personal protective equipment from the state for the airport. The PPE has already been distributed to various town departments that need it.
The council unanimously authorized the town manager to apply for the 2021 Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program for $1.2 million for a new aerial ladder truck.
“We’re being a little bit proactive, because in the last few years when we’ve had our annual test that is done on the ladder truck it’s always passed, but there are always things that may need to be repaired or are of concern,” Houlton Fire Chief Milton Cone said.
There are obvious signs of wear on the current truck, including rust and corrosion on the frame and other areas, plus on the pulleys system, Cone said.
“I don’t’ have a crystal ball to tell how long it’s going to last. We are continuing to maintain it as best we can, but it reaches a point where if it does not pass we may be looking at taking it out of service and a significant refurbishing of a 30-year-old piece of apparatus or replacing brand new,” he said.
Council member Edward Lake introduced a measure to transfer up to $149,518 from the undesignated fund balance to remove the existing fuel tank and system located at the Public Works Department. This ordinance will have its first reading at the Feb. 14 meeting, and will be followed by a hearing on Feb. 28.
Town Manager Marian Anderson did not attend the meeting due to illness.
