After hours of preparation, analysis, conversation and revision by town staff and boards and committees, the proposed municipal budget for 2025-26 is ready for public review, questions and comment.
A public hearing on the budget will be held on Monday, March 10, at 6:30 p.m. at the Meetinghouse. The Finance Committee and members of the board and town staff will attend to answer questions from the community. The hearing will be live-streamed at this link, as will the Finance Committee meeting that will immediately follow.
Print copies of the proposed FY26 budget are available at Town Hall or at this link.
As presented in the budget booklet, the proposed FY 26 budget, including the Town and estimates for the schools and county, totals nearly $15 million, an increase of 4.5 percent over the current year. The Town-only portion at $7,568,000 reflects an increase of about 4.2 percent over the current year. Increases in compensation, health insurance and other benefits account for much of the change in the annual operating budget.
The $7.5 million Town figure includes $785,000 in proposed spending on capital items/projects and $725,000 to go into capital reserves. Unlike this year’s budget, which saw a new $340,000 dump truck/plow for Public Works and new $225,000 loader, no big-ticket vehicles are proposed for next year.
Instead, lead capital items include $200,000 for radio systems for Fire Rescue and for Public Works and $200,000 to refurbish Fire Rescue Tanker 2. Still under discussion is capital funding that could move forward the long-discussed Fairgrounds bathroom project to bids and construction.
$512,500 in paving is proposed for FY26, down from $700,000 this year and $920,000 the year before. Roads slated for paving/chip seal in FY26 are Penney Road from the railroad crossing to Route 231, Snow Hill Road from Outlet Road to Sabbathday Road, Bald Hill Road from the Transfer Station to the town line, and Cobble Hill Road (off Chandler Mill Road).
Because New Gloucester’s share of the MSAD 15 and Cumberland County budgets won’t be final until later this spring, the budget document uses estimates for those amounts. The placeholder figures assume about a 5 percent increase over the current year.
With significant budget pieces still uncertain, a firm tax rate can’t be pinned down. But the budget booklet shows an estimated mil rate of $15.28 per thousand dollars of valuation, up from the current $14.89. Among open questions affecting the tax rate is how much to take from the Town’s surplus (the Undesignated Fund Balance) to soften the tax impact. $500,000 has been the amount budgeted—but ultimately not needed—in recent years.
Whatever the eventual tax rate, a $10 million increase in the town’s taxable property valuation figure will help taxpayers’ bottom line: the bigger the overall property pie, the smaller each taxpayer’s slice of the budget.
Ultimately, recommended budget figures from the Select Board and Finance Committee will appear on the warrant for voters to consider at Town Meeting on May 5. The Finance Committee will finalize its recommendations immediately after the March 10 public hearing. The board will likely set its figures on March 17.
What community members have to say at the upcoming budget hearing may well shape what’s proposed at town meeting. Share your thoughts and questions on Monday, March 10, at 6:30 p.m. at the Meetinghouse.
— Joanne Cole
