Despite concerns about a proposed double-digit property tax increase this year, acting City Manager Brian Phinney presented the Biddeford City Council with some good news on Tuesday evening.
Phinney presented a budget that shows a proposed 5.7 percent increase over last year’s budget. That overall increase includes the city’s share of the school budget.
At the start of Tuesday’s budget committee meeting, Councilor Marc Lessard — a self-described fiscal conservative — said he is breathing a sigh of relief, after speculating last week that taxpayers could see a significant, double-digit increase based on last week’s school budget meeting.
“We still have some work to do,” Lessard said. “But we are starting out at a much better place than I anticipated.”
During Tuesday’s meeting, various department heads presented their proposed budget requests to the council.
Next Tuesday (April 1) the public will have an opportunity to weigh in on the proposed budget.
Phinney’s proposed budget shows an increase of 0.53 percent for the city; a 5.10 percent increase in school funding and an 0.08 percent increase in county taxes.
According to Phinney every $100,000 of spending requires 2.3 cents on the tax rate..
Under Phinney’s proposed budget, the tax (mil) rate would increase from $14.22 last year to $15.03 this year.
Last year, the City Council approved a total budget of $61,639,883. This year, Phinney is recommending a total budget of $64,290,945.
For more details or to view/download the city manager’s proposed budget, see the PDF file pasted below or you can find all of the city’s budget documents by clicking on this link.
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