FORT FAIRFIELD, Maine — Despite doubts from the town manager and several councilors and a looming deadline, the Fort Fairfield Town Council decided to not approve the proposed FY 2021-2022 budget for the time being.
Instead, the council will hold a special meeting on Thursday, June 24, less than a week before the current fiscal year ends on June 30. If councilors fail to pass a new budget by that date, the town will fall back on its FY 2020-2021 budget until the council approves a new one.
After their June 3 public hearing, town officials negotiated the $292,041 increase down to a $168,278 increase. During their regular meeting on June 17, town manager Andrea Powers noted that the $6.9 million total budget represents only a 1.6 percent increase from last fiscal year’s $6.8 million budget.
The total budget for the Fire & EMS Department is set at $1.3 million and has been a source of controversy for a local taxpayer group that has advocated for decreasing what it sees as unnecessary expenses for that new town service.
But Powers remained consistent in her support for the budget and asked that the council not make any further changes.
“This is the most fiscally responsible budget [we can pass] without compromising services that are vital for our community,” Powers said, before recommending that the council vote to pass the budget.
But councilors Bob Kilcollins and Melissa Libby both expressed concerns about passing the proposed budget as is, citing the continued pushback they have seen from various community members.
“I say we make a motion to table the 2021-2022 budget vote for further view,” Kilcollins said. “With the financial burden we’re asking of the taxpayers, I feel that there are concerns we can address.”
Libby supported Kilcollins’ suggested motion and noted that the town might benefit from waiting to see if the state Legislature votes in favor of funding schools at 55 percent, which could change the mill rate if the SAD 20 budget receives more funds.
“I’d be more comfortable if we waited a little longer [to pass the budget],” Libby said. “It would be good to have more answers from the state.”
Councilors Mitchell Butler and Scott Smith and council Chairperson Mark Babin all opposed Kilcollins’ motion, citing concerns about pushing the budget negotiations too close to the end of the fiscal year.
Though none of the 20 community members and department heads attending spoke during the public comment period, Babin made reference to the Taxpayer Group of Fort Fairfield, that previously said that it would draft a petition to bring the budget to a referendum vote if it passed on Thursday.
“We’ve done a lot of work on this budget already and we have services that need to be funded,” Babin said. “Our responsibility as a council is to the whole town, not just a few people. No one wants to pay taxes, but we have to. We ask that people be patient and allow us to do our jobs.”
Butler acknowledged Kilcollins’ and Libby’s concerns but remained in support of passing the budget as it stood Thursday evening.
“We have to support our department heads. We understood that there would be initial costs [of EMS services] that we’d have to work through,” Butler said. “It would be irresponsible not to vote tonight.”
Smith agreed with Butler and Babin but acknowledged that there might be room to negotiate the police department’s budget due to a current staffing shortage.
“They only have one officer now,” Smith said, referring to the recent resignation of police chief Shawn Newell. “They came to us asking if we could maybe decrease their total budget.”
Currently the police department is budgeted for $456,803 in FY 2021-2022, a decrease from the previous budget of $539,085.
Despite an initial vote to not table the budget vote, councilors continued to reiterate their respective positions.Â
Powers urged them to think about the necessity of supporting departments such as Parks and Recreation and the library, many of whom already rely on tight budgets and small staff numbers. She also continued to advocate for EMS funding as it stood on her proposed budget.
“I don’t know what more I can educate people on. This is the bare minimum budget we can have without affecting services,” Powers said. “I’ve heard so much misguided information [about the EMS service]. Our only new purchases were the two new ambulances. There are expenses like medicine and insurance that we can’t control.”
In the end, the council voted unanimously to hold a special meeting regarding the town budget at 6 p.m. on Thursday, June 24, at the Fort Fairfield Community Center gym.
