By Nate Jones

Staff Writer 

South Portland residents will be able to voice their opinions about the city’s proposed $83 million operating budget at a public hearing scheduled for April 2. Possible decreases in sewer and other public improvement costs and cuts by City Manager Jim Gailey and the school board would not stop the combined proposed South Portland municipal and school budget from increasing by 2.13 percent, or nearly $2 million from last year.

Under Gailey’s proposal, city municipal operations, school department costs and county tax expenses alone would increase by roughly $1.7 million, which is 2.63 percent higher than last year. 

Tax increases as a result of the proposed budget will remain below the 4.18 percent tax increase cap imposed by the city council in December. Residents would see a 56-cent increase per $1,000 of assessed property value, or a 4.09 percent higher tax rate in the upcoming year if the budget is approved.

The largest estimated increase is for municipal operations, which would increase by 3.1 percent or approximately $830,000. 

Much of the increase is driven by a 2.14 percent increase in the estimated cost for city personnel. The category includes approximately an additional $100,000 in overtime wages and about $10,000 for retirement city employee benefits. Nearly $300,000 would be added to city employee salaries and wages. The total cost for personnel services would total about $18.5 million should the budget be approved. According to Gailey’s report, personnel service expenses and salaries account for more than 66 percent of the city budget.

The proposed municipal costs also include about $140,000 for new privatized trash and recycling initiatives and roughly $100,000 in gas, oil and other heating fuel costs. Approximately $13,500 for participation in the Greater Portland Council of Governments, as proposed by Mayor Jim Soule, and other funding for a new dispatch service in conjunction with the city of Portland are also included in the proposal.

Gailey’s report on the budget attributes much of the increase to increasing oil and electricity prices. The city is also receiving less aid from the state than last year.

The proposal also outlines the use of revenue from tax increment financing (TIF) districts to fund salaries for the new assistant city manager/economic development director position and the director of planning and development salaries. The city manager and community planner salaries, which were partially funded by TIF revenues last year would be provided entirely through the general fund via the new proposal. 

The proposed municipal budget omits requests to hire a new police officer and does not sufficiently fund building, vehicle and equipment maintenance, Gailey said. 

South Portland school officials also presented a proposed $42 million school budget to the city council in an informal workshop on Monday. The school board managed to cut 10 percent of the school’s operating costs, per the council’s requests in a December meeting.

“As difficult as it was to get to that number, at least we knew what we had to get to,” School Board Chairman Richard Carter said.

The council was largely in favor of the school’s proposed budget. Several councilors commended their reductions in school operating costs. 

“I know it was not an easy task,” Soule said, and thanked school officials for their  “aggressive” efforts to meet the standards set by the council.

Cuts to the school budget include eliminating the equivalent of 9.2 positions at the schools, including a bus driver, custodian and nearly six special education teachers and two high school educators. Carter said they were able to find savings largely by removing poorly attended or obsolete programs from the schools, and that the cuts would have little impact on students or current staff members.

Despite the cuts and roughly an additional $100,000 the schools will receive as part of a bus maintenance agreement with Portland, educational expenses are expected to increase by 2.28 percent, a total of about $900,000. 

Carter and other members of the school board attributed the increase to a reduction in state funding for special education programs. In 2007, schools received close to $4.7 million through state subsidy revenues, but will receive an estimated $4 million this year. The reduction is a direct result of 91 students being removed from the programs as part of the school’s reassessment of student needs. 

“Thank you very much for passing the buck,” Soule said in comments to state officials not in attendance, and recalled past promises by the state to fund up to half of special education costs. 

The school budget will likely be come forward for a vote in May.