Arrowsic residents will vote on the town’s $1 million proposed municipal budget during the annual town meeting on Thursday, June 17 at 6:30 p.m. at the Arrowsic fire station.
Most of the town’s $1,035,341 total spending plan — up $66,556 from last year — is driven by the $535,020 Regional School Unit 1 expense. Municipal costs alone total just under $342,000, according to town warrant documents.
It’s unclear how the proposed budget, if approved Thursday, will impact the tax rate for residents when combined with the new Sagadahoc County and RSU 1 budgets, according to Town Administrator Sheila Spear. The property tax rate now rests at $9.55 per $1,000 of value, meaning a $200,000 home has a $1,910 property tax bill.
Spear said the new tax rate will be determined in the fall when administrators perform the tax commitment, which is when a tax assessor calculates the tax rate for residents based on the municipal, county and school budgets.
The main drivers of the proposed municipal budget include a $115,000 allocation for general town road maintenance and repair as well as snow removal, as well as $71,387 to cover town employee salaries, according to the town meeting warrant.
The town is also asking residents to approve $30,300 — over $13,000 more than previous spending — for administrative costs. Selectman DeeDee Jorgensen said the expense increase stems from “adding and upgrading our computers and software operating platforms.”
On it’s own, RSU1’s new $38.9 million spending plan, approved by area voters last week, increased by $665,553 from last year. The major drivers of the new budget include a $469,471, or 3.96%, increase in regular instruction across the district and a $178,251, 11.53%, rise in career and technical education.
The proposed $10.7 million Sagadahoc County budget is increasing by $342,818 or 3.3% according to Pamela Hile, the county administrator. The county plans to spend $28,000 to replace cameras in police cruisers. The county is proposing to spend $18,000 for Emergency 911 software upgrades and raise an additional $40,000 to replace the emergency dispatch software system.
Arrowsic residents will also vote Thursday whether to re-elect Selectman Walter Briggs, who is running to maintain his seat on the board unopposed.
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