01/14/2011

Town looking toward 1.5 percent tax increase for municipal services in 2012

The Town is planning for a 1.5-percent increase in the tax rate for municipal services in 2012.

At their meeting Jan. 10, 2011, Town Council Finance Committee Chair Sara Lennon reported the projected increase will be part of an $8.8 million municipal spending plan to be submitted for committee consideration in early spring.

It would be the first increase in taxes for municipal services, after small declines in the last two years, Lennon said.

"The total projected expenditure for 2012 is $8,880,334 which translates to $340,647 additional spending over the current year, allowing approximately 2-percent increases in both full-time and part-time payroll and some much-needed building repairs and equipment replacement," Lennon said in a prepared statment during the reports and correspondence segment of the Jan. 10 meeting.

Most notably, she said, the Fort Williams maintenance budget will increase by $80,000, bringing its allocation for upkeep, maintenance and repairs to $100,000.

The proposed tax increase would add $18 to the tax bill of a Cape Elizabeth property valued at $300,000.

Revenue decline generally meeting expecations

Lennon said the Town was in "excellent" financial shape, even though revenues in investment income, state revenue sharing and excise tax continue to decline. At the half-way point of fiscal 2010-11, investment income is now projected at $25,000 for the year, well below the $81,000 budgeted. "Nonetheless, projections out to June show revenues will be at 100.3 percent of budgeted revenues, thanks to the manager’s fiscal expertise and prudent planning," Lennon said.

And, "Closing on a bright note: for the first time ever more than half the taxes have been paid at the six month mark in the fiscal year; it stands at 50.3 percent as of January 1st," she said.