Topsham is proposing a $13.6 million municipal budget for 2021-22 that is expected to decrease the town’s tax rate if the expenses and revenues hold as projected.
Town Manager Derek Scrapchansky said the proposed budget is an overall increase of just under 1.5% but would require about $300,000 less in taxes if the estimated school and county budgets hold.
That would result in an estimated tax rate drop of 2.2% and could lower the tax rate from $17.86 to $17.47 per $1,000 of assessed value, Scrapchansky said.
For a home with an assessed value of $200,000 that could result in the tax bill dropping from $3,572 to $3,488 or by $84.
Scrapchansky said the town is increasing the road paving budget 85% from $350,000 to $650,000 to help keep up with needed road maintenance around town before deteriorating roads need more expensive rehabilitation work to repair.
The town is increasing its capital program by $247,000 to do road and culvert work. The town plans to replace a culvert on Elm Street at an estimated cost of $675,000. Scrapchansky said only $425,000 will come from taxes; the rest will come from a reserve account to replace the culvert.
The town is also buying a new plow truck, a new hybrid police cruiser, and new cardiac monitors for the fire and EMS department.
Like last year, Scrapchansky said the budget includes very conservative revenue projections, including a very small excise tax revenue increase. The budget also assumes there will be no increase in municipal revenue sharing — the portion of sales and income taxes the state gives to municipalities. The state has still not released those projections.
This would be the second year in a row Topsham’s tax rate dropped. In the current 2020-21 fiscal year, the town decreased its tax rate from $19.15 per $1,000 of assessed value to $17.86 per $1,000 of assessed value.
The Topsham selectmen will hold a public hearing on the proposed 2021-22 budget on April 15.
The town is also expected to get $890,000 as part of the American Rescue Plan, Scrapchansky said. That money can be used to respond to the coronavirus health emergency or its negative economic impacts, including establishing programs to assist households, small businesses or nonprofits; or to assist impacted industries such as tourism, travel and hospitality, according to Scrapchansky.
The stimulus funds can also be used to replace lost municipal revenue and to fund water, sewer and broadband infrastructure. The town is still awaiting more information about how to access and spend the federal funding, Scrapchansky said. It is not included in the proposed budget.
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