HOULTON, ME — Town councilors approved a 2017 municipal budget in the amount of $10,690,001 Wednesday, Jan. 4 at a special council meeting.
That figure is up slightly from last year’s budget of $10,575,166.
The budget includes a 2 percent cost of living wage increase for all union employees, but non-union staff members, which includes most department heads, will only receive a 1 percent pay increase.
Town Manager Butch Asselin had recommended a 2 percent raise for both employee groups.
“I am fine with the budget that was approved,” Asselin said. “I think it is a good working budget and I appreciate all of the efforts of our department employees who helped in putting it together.”
By going with a 1 percent increase, the town saved about $15,000, some of which was to be added into a special account for a town-wide revaluation that is anticipated for the year 2021 at a cost of between $200,000-$250,000.
The total amount set aside for 2017 is $68,600. Last year, $31,929 was set aside for the project.
During the meeting, a movement was made to reinstate the full 2 percent wage increase, but when it came time to approve the total budget, that measure failed. Therefore, the council had to revert back to the previously approved amount from a Dec. 14 meeting that only allowed for the 1 percent increase.
The total municipal spending of $7,720714 is down $35,081 from the previous year.
One of the biggest changes to the budget is a $17,000 increase for the Sockanosett Hose Company, which is the volunteer branch of the Houlton Fire Department. According to Asselin, volunteers will no longer receive stipends twice a year for their service. Instead, the volunteer firefighters will now receive regular paychecks, with taxes taken out. In order to ensure the firefighters still receive the equivalent of $2,500, the line account was increased.
Another new feature in the town budget comes from the police department, where it is being proposed that the town should lease patrol vehicles instead of purchasing them. A total of $30,000 is in the budget to replace two cruisers this year.
Because Maine voters approved raising the state’s minimum wage for the first time since 2009, bumping it from $7.50 to $9 per hour next year, and to $12 by 2020, a number of accounts will see increases in employee wages.
