There could be a roughly 4.75% tax increase in 2023 for Bowdoinham residents, according to Bowdoinham Town Manager Nicole Briand.
Last year saw a more modest increase of .6%.
The tax rate won’t be set officially until August or September, Briand said.
Bowdoinham’s finance committee made edits to its proposed 2023 town budget at a select board meeting on Tuesday, April 26.
The finance committee had proposed a $2.7 million yearly budget on April 20, which included yearly salaries for a full-time rec director and a full-time town clerk. The proposed budget would have put the town over its tax levy limit by $124,000.
A town’s tax levy is a cap on the amount of property tax dollars a local government is allowed to raise by law.
As of April 26, the new proposed budget for 2023 is nearly $2.68 million, which is a 15.71% increase overall since last year. There is an 11.39% increase in revenue, bringing the town just below its tax levy limit at $959,287.
The new budget calculations were a result of raising the town trash bag price to $3 and keeping the town rec director and town clerk as part-time positions.
Briand wrote in the municipal draft budget for 2023, “Over the past year, it was difficult to recruit employees, primarily due to our wages not being competitive. This budget reflects wage adjustments in the following areas based on Maine Municipal Association’s 2021 Salary Survey for Sagadahoc/Kennebec/Androscoggin/Cumberland counties for similar positions.”
To name a few, the median rate for deputy clerks and tax collectors is about $19.22 an hour and Bowdoinham will pay $18 an hour. For recreation, the median wage is about $27.20 an hour and Bowdoinham will pay $23 an hour. A highway foreman’s median rate is about $31.48 an hour and Bowdoinham will pay $27 an hour.
Briand said the updated budget materials will be posted on the Bowdoinham town website by May 3, in time for the May 10 public hearing taking place at 6:30 p.m.
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