KENNEBUNK – Voters June 8 will act on a municipal budget for the next fiscal year  that proposes to raise $10.8 million through taxation, up about $955,853 from the current fiscal year that ends June 30.

Voters will also elect four people to the select board and two RSU 21 board seats, a Kennebunk Light and Power District trustee and sewer district trustees that day.  Voters will also decide whether to validate the RSU 21 budget, which was approved at the district meeting May 11. Polls are open at the Town Hall Auditorium, 1 Summer St., from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.

If approved, the property tax impact of the municipal spending plan is about 35 cents per $1,000 worth of assessed value, estimated finance director Joel Downs – but the figure doesn’t mean the mil rate, currently at $14.15 per $1,000 worth of assessed value, will increase by that amount. The value of new property added to the town, among other potential factors, plays a role in ultimately deciding the mil rate.

Revenues of $5.2 million brought the gross budget to $10.8 million from $16 million.

Significant changes in the proposed municipal budget include a projected $265,000 increase in revenues from excise taxes, ambulance billing, beach parking permits and building permits, Downs outlined in budget documents. On the expense side, increased debt service adds up to $577,158, across the board wage increases of 2 percent increased the budget by $140,000, along with $108,000 in increases in health insurance, retirement, workers compensation and FICA; further wage and salary adjustments of $43,000; and an additional per diem firefighter/paramedic position at Kennebunk Fire Department of $98,000, among others.

The warrant asks voters to approve $17.7 million overall for an array of services, which includes the $16 million gross operating budget and revenues – including $1.6 million in Tax Increment Financing revenues and expenses.

It also asks voters to approve $781,800 from the unassigned general fund balance for purchase, rental and or repairs to police and public service vehicles; materials for road and drainage repairs; repairs and improvements to the Central Fire Station floor, parks and field expansion and irrigation; police, fire public service and town hall equipment tools, radios and signs, chiller replacement and stair installation at Waterhouse Center, GIS mapping, aerial photography, an employee compensation study; a fixed asset accounting update project computer software, hardware and training and for select board operational contingencies, if funds remain.

A third warrant article asks voters to approve a 10-year bond of up to $1.38 million to finance costs of paving, sidewalk and drainage on Intervale Road, Meadow Lane, Old Falls Road, Westwood Road, Ivy Court, Greenfield Drive, Countryfield Drive, Rosewood Circle, Fairway Drive, Walker Heights Circle, Quedgley Court, Greenwood Drive, Pinewood Road, Plummer Lane, Surf Lane, Hickory Lane and Emmons Road, and other streets if funds permit, along with a tandem axle dump and plow truck. Estimated interest over 10 years is $211,650 at an estimated 3 percent interest, for a total of $1.59 million.

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