Gorham might be eligible to purchase emergency vehicles and address several issues that need attention in local schools with expected federal funding from the recently passed pandemic relief package.
Town Manager Ephrem Paraschak said the municipality is slated to receive about $1.7 million and Superintendent Heather Perry is expecting an additional $1.4 million for the School Department from the relief package.
“The specifics of the allowed uses of the funds have not been released to the town yet, but there will be requirements on how the funds can be spent,” Paraschak told the American Journal Monday.
Paraschak said he may advocate for using the money to bolster the town’s capital program, funding for which was reduced at the start of the pandemic.
Gorham is falling behind on capital improvements, Paraschak said, and the stimulus money could be available for dump trucks, fire trucks, police cruisers and other equipment, rebuilding a road or parking lot, and repairs to town-owned facilities.
Examples of items not funded in the budget for the current year but could be allowed to be purchased with stimulus funds include lights at Little Falls field for $175,000; a municipal tractor, $150,000; a pair of three-quarter-ton pickups, $85,000; and a wide area mower for $58,000.
“It was the direction of the council to come up with a feasible budget last year for the taxpayers, as it should be every year,” Town Council Chairman Lee Pratt said Tuesday. “With the uncertainty of the pandemic, we instructed the town manager to come in with a zero increase budget.”
Pratt said the town will have to first wait for the stimulus funds to be deposited and guidelines on how they should be allocated.
Town Councilor Suzanne Phillips said there will be “fine print” involved. “He (Paraschak) is putting together his thoughts,” Phillips said Monday.
Paraschak said the town may be allowed to use the stimulus fund to replace lost revenue, but “although $1.7 million is a substantial amount of money, compared to the town’s operating and capital budgets it is a relatively small amount and not a magical solution for budgeting purposes in the coming year.”
On the school side, Perry said she expects a $1.4 million allocation in mid-April.
“These funds do require a 25% set aside to operate summer and/or before or after school programming to address learning loss,” Perry said.
Stressing that conditions could change in “COVID-19 land,” Perry outlined some preliminary uses for the federal funds, including using $500,0oo to boost funding for repairs to the heating and ventilation system at Gorham Middle School.
Bids to replace aging heat pumps at the middle school recently came in nearly half a million dollars above the $2.26 million voters approved in a referendum last November. The federal funds could address that shortfall, but the School Department would need another referendum to approve the higher expense because the amount would exceed the cap voters approved.
Other school uses of the federal funding, Perry said, could be spending $400,000 on “moveable” equipment to allow more efficient classroom space and more custodial services to ensure sanitation; $325,000 to support spring remote learning and summer learning programs; $60,000 for transportation needs because of limited capacity on buses during the pandemic; and $55,000 for personal protective equipment.
“We’ll likely need to continue to be flexible and facile in moving funds to where we need to in order to ensure our schools remain open,” Perry said.
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