CARIBOU, Maine — Caribou City Council voted on Aug. 24 to cut $170,000 and one cent from the capital projects budget.
The discussion started in late July, after councilors set the mill rate to 23.55, marking a one mill reduction from last year. Before setting the mill rate, Caribou City Manager Dennis Marker said the reduction would result in a $408,750 budget shortfall and that the city would need to show how they were going to compensate for the difference — either through adding reserve account money or by cutting expenses.
The council ultimately voted to lower the mill rate by one while making up the difference with reserve account money, which contained about $900,000 — with the caveat that the city only use these funds as a last resort and explore other methods of making up for it, either through cuts or finding additional revenues.
When council discussed the cuts last month, Marker recommended cutting $170,000 from the capital projects budget. This money comes from several sources, including unspent funds on an additional study for a new police station that was discontinued, a bid for membrane replacement that came in under budget, postponing truss work until 2021, and placing Collins pond design work on hold.
The council decided to table the matter until they had more time to consider the reductions.
When the group met Aug. 10 to take action on these cuts, both Mayor Mark Goughan and Councilor Doug Morrell were absent from this meeting. A motion to make the cuts — which needed at least four affirmative votes to pass — died with only three councilors in support and councilors Joan Theriault and Nicole Cote opposed.
On Aug. 24, only councilor Jody Smith was absent, and the council passed an amended version of the cuts, adding one cent to the total.
Theriault cited Marker’s memo in the council packet, which stated that according to Robert’s Rules of Order, she or Cote may call for a reconsideration of the vote or that the resolution be changed and a new motion be presented for vote.
Councilor Hugh Kirkpatrick argued that this was unfair, as the city council did not follow this rule two years ago in approving a 30-year TIF agreement which allowed a group of local investors to renovate the former Hilltop Elementary School building into a senior living center.
He said the situation was exactly the same, with the motion first failing due to a lack of councilors and then subsequently being approved with the full council and no changes to the motion.
Theriault, who was also on the council at the time, said she was just reading what was written in the council packet.
“Why was that not important when we voted on that TIF?” Kirkpatrick asked. “It seems it’s more important now but it wasn’t important two years ago. What’s the difference?”
Marker explained that he understood Kirkpatrick’s position, but that the city’s failure to follow Robert’s Rules two years ago does not allow them to continue ignoring them, adding that it is a charter issue.
Councilor Thomas Ayer asked if this meant the city should revisit the TIF agreement from two years ago. Cote said that the issue was not brought up in 2018, but now that it has been brought to the city manager’s attention and it is being addressed moving forward.
“I would’ve told you two years ago that I didn’t know that was the process either,” she said. “I’m not making excuses, but that’s what the difference is.”
Councilor Nicole Cote said that she genuinely did not know about Robert’s Rules at the time of the TIF vote two years ago, and rejected the assertion that she was only choosing to remember the rules when it was beneficial. Both Cote and Theriault said they disagreed with the proposed cuts, as they were too aggressive and could result in future tax increases when handling postponed projects or if the city faces any future emergencies.
