Scarborough City Council unanimously approved a combined school and community budget of $ 73.5 million on Wednesday, citing unexpected coincidences of more than $ 3 million as significant.
The budget was originally proposed at $ 77.1 million, but officials have cut $ 3.4 million to meet the cap on the council’s tax rate increase of 3%. The budget approved on May 26th corresponds to a 2.78% increase in the tax rate. For the owner of a $ 300,000 home, the tax burden will increase by $ 123, according to city documents. Residents will have the opportunity to vote in a referendum on June 8 on the portion of the school department’s budget totaling $ 55.7 million.
Alderman John Cloutier, who also serves as chairman of the council’s finance committee, said this week that unexpected revenue streams represent $ 3.4 million that has been cut. He said based on recent increases in excise tax revenues, the city expects to add up to $ 550,000 more excise tax over the next year.
Another expected increase concerns the sharing of revenue or the portion of sales and income taxes levied by the state and allocated to the city. This year, according to Cloutier, those funds have increased 10% and are expected to increase further over the next year. The city expects to receive nearly $ 1.1 million more from the state and will use that additional money to cover the cuts as well.
The funding, Cloutier said, will advance several capital improvement issues, such as studies that the city may wish to conduct to help plan future projects. Examples include a $ 120,000 study to identify improvements to Mitchell Hill Road and a $ 300,000 study to look into consolidation of school department facilities that could one day include the combination of elementary schools, he said.
Other sources of additional funding expected by the city that are not part of the 2022 budget, according to Cloutier, include school grants of $ 945,000 in excess of what the state is already allocating to the district. In addition, the federal government is expected to provide the city with up to $ 2 million to fund pandemic aid.
“Every time we turn around, another source of income is opened up,” Cloutier said at the meeting on Wednesday.
Only one Bay Street resident, Susan Hamill, spoke during the public statement at the council meeting on Wednesday. She thanked the council for its work and stated that the additional funds were welcome, but feared the officials would become too complacent.
“I am very concerned about what happens when all the free money is gone and we taxpayers are being asked to make up the difference,” she said.
Cloutier admitted this week that the council understands that additional revenue won’t last forever.
“You want to be careful how you use it because it can, and probably will, go the other way pretty easily,” he said.
” Previous
New Scarborough Public Works Union, dead-end town
similar posts