Staff Writer 

For the first time in 13 years, Lynn Holler and her husband have considered leaving South Portland. 

“The only reason I would leave is because of the schools,” she told the city council during the school and municipal budget presentations last week. 

“I’m really concerned about the future. I don’t want to raise [children] in a community that sees them as a liability and not a benefit.”

Holler’s concerns revolve around a proposed $5.8 million bond to be placed on a school budget validation referendum ballot in June. For residents who supported the school maintenance bond,  a favorable vote both by council members and residents would mean more than security and structural upgrades to Memorial and Mahoney Middle schools and the high school. 

“As a community, we’re putting out a message to our kids that we don’t care about them,” resident Molly Aldrich said. “They are our greatest resource and we need to support them.”

Others also supported the proposed $43.2 million school budget, which is an increase of roughly $8,000, or 0.02 percent, from last year’s proposed budget. While some said the proposed school budget, which eliminates the equivalent of 15 full time positions and takes advantage of an increase in state General Purpose Aid funding, was a fair attempt to keep property taxes low. Some residents were skeptical of the additional funding. 

Resident Albert DiMillo argued the school should begin its budgeting process by looking at how much it spend rather than how much it received from taxpayers.

“My big problem is the way [the school board] does their budgeting,” DiMillo said. “You never look at the actual numbers.” 

Similar accounting methods are used for the proposed $27 million municipal budget, DiMillo said. In preparing the municipal budget, which is more than $813,000 higher than last year’s, City Manager Gailey said he took advantage of favorable fuel costs, offered city employees an early retirement option and was forced to lay off five city employees.

“It’s no secret in this community that we had to look at personnel,” Gailey said. “After everything, we were still talking a human element. This community is not used to layoffs, but as I have said before we have had the perfect storm in this community. Those employees gave their lives to this community and it was unfortunate it had to happen.”

DiMillo said he believed the municipal budget had exceeded actual expenditures during the last four budget seasons.

“I can tell you right now you’re over-budget,” he said. 

According to Gailey’s calculations, the combined proposed school and municipal budget is an increase of more than $750,000 from last year and will result in a 1.43 percent property tax increase, or a 20 cent increase per $1,000 of property valuation.

Mayor Tom Blake said the city council will review the municipal budget – “department by department” – during several budget workshops in upcoming weeks. Although the council has discussed a June public school budget validation referendum, a final date has not yet been set.

For some councilors, the amount of citizen interest in next year’s proposed school and municipal budgets is surprising.

“In the past two years, we’ve had one person speak at our final budget approval,” Blake told the audience that half-filled the council chambers last week. “This is impressive.”