FORT FAIRFIELD, Maine — Fort Fairfield residents could see a lower mill rate this year.
As the town gets ready to release a proposed fiscal year budget, officials remain hopeful that the town will remedy its current financial situation.
After many meetings with department leaders, Interim Town Manager Dan Foster is set to release the initial proposed budget on Fort Fairfield’s website Friday, March 24. Paper copies will be available at the town office.
The first budget workshop with town councilors and budget advisory committee members will be held at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, April 5, in the council chambers. Two public hearings will be held at 6 p.m. on May 4 and 17. The May 17 hearing will be held in the council chambers while the first hearing’s location is to be determined.
After making changes to the budget, town councilors typically approve the final version during their regular June meeting.
On Wednesday, councilors unanimously appointed two new members of the budget advisory committee: Ann Hull and Chuck Ainsworth, who will serve two-year terms.
Foster told councilors he is confident the proposed budget could help the town reduce last year’s budget by $400,000 and pay off most of its $1.2 million debt. The budget would also reduce the current 26.5 mill rate.
“It would reduce the mill rate to 25.7 mills, so a three quarters of a mill reduction,” Foster said. “Once our debt is paid, we can have a more significant drop in the mill rate.”
The 2023-2024 fiscal year budget will mark a crucial shift from what town officials have dealt with since last year, Foster said.
In September, Foster took over as town manager after the departure of former manager Andrea Powers. Several town councilors and many residents had long suspected that the town was overspending after its yearly budgets kept increasing.
Foster revealed that the town had lost more than $700,000 in two years and gained $1.2 million in debt, largely due to purchases related to emergency medical services. Since then several departments, including EMS, library and recreation, have already undergone significant cuts as Foster and councilors work to pay off the debt.
In related news, Foster updated councilors on the Fort Fairfield Community Empowerment Project.
The town has hired Catherine Ingraham of CEI Consultants to conduct interviews with staff on what they think led to the financial fallout and how Fort Fairfield can avoid that dilemma again.
Ingraham has conducted 22 interviews so far, Foster noted, and has only three more to complete. She will then share results with town officials in a private meeting this spring before the town holds a community forum this summer.
After the forum, Ingraham will present a final report to the town, which will assist officials in finding a new town manager.
Foster said that the staff interviews have been going well.
“Catherine has been impressed with the participants’ candor and thoughtfulness,” Foster said. “She has spent anywhere between 45 minutes to an hour with each of them.”
Fort Fairfield resident Stev Rogeski encouraged community members to fill out an anonymous survey available on the town’s website. Officials will use the responses to craft a better vision for the town’s future, he said.
“If you want to give input, this is a good way to do it,” Rogeski said.
In other business, Fire & EMS Chief Michael Jalbert said his department has responded to eight fire calls and 51 emergency medical calls in March so far.
Since Jan. 1, the Fort Fairfield Police Department has responded to 701 incidents, with 37 calls resulting in arrests. The incidents have ranged from operating under the influence charges and drug trafficking to traffic stops, Police Chief Matthew Cummings said.
The department has remained fully staffed since last year, with three full-time and five part-time officers.
Being fully staffed came in handy on Feb. 27 when three bison escaped from a farm near Route 167 in Presque Isle, Cummings said. Officers from Fort Fairfield, Presque Isle, the Maine Warden Service and Maine Forest Service were on guard from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. that day until the bison were returned to their pen.
Cummings recalled a scary close call between a bison and an Amish buggy.
“The horse got scared and lifted its hooves. Sgt. [Jesse] Cormier was able to get control of the horse,” Cummings said.
The next Fort Fairfield Town Council meeting will be held at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, April 19, in the council chambers, located in the town office at 18 Community Center Drive.
