Between 2010-2016, Gorham gained 1,000 new residents, an increase of 6%, and the Town is continuing to see substantial growth in the number of new homes being built and more children enrolling in our schools. The proposed school budget adds $1.60 per $1,000 of assessed value to the property tax. An increase of 0.25 is expected for the municipal budget including the Cumberland County tax commitment. Property taxes would increase from $17.10 per $1,000 to $18.85, but may be lower depending on how much new taxable property value is added to the Town as of April. A home with an assessed value of $250,000 would see a tax increase of about $437 annually. or about $36 a month.
Because property values have also increased in Gorham, the funding the State of Maine returns to the town, which is based on property values as well as enrollment and has now been changed from a three-year average to two-year valuation average, will decrease substantially. The school budget reflects per pupil costs that are in line with previous budgets. The increase in the budget is largely based on the loss of $1.2 million in state funding as a result of the residential growth which means increased property taxes were paid to the Town.
Fixed costs such as salaries and health care also increase annually. The School Dept. has proposed a budget of $39.2 million which is a 4.43% increase and is largely based on the loss of state funding as well as the increasing number of students in the Gorham schools. An additional 77 students are expected for the 2018-2019 school year.
On the Town side, the proposed budget is $14,740,743, an increase of 4.7% over last year’s budget. $7,964,521 will come from property taxes and $6,651,370 will come from other revenues. The increased costs include $50,000 allocated for the Senior Property Tax Relief program, a half-time customer service position for the Town Clerk’s office, an additional supervisor for the Police Department to provide more flexibility in shift assignments and to help reduce the need for overtime, and a part-time mowing/turf management position for Public Works to provide general maintenance of recreational fields.
The Fire Department has seen the number of calls increase to a daily average of 8.4 (primarily medical emergencies). In 2017, the Town could not provide an ambulance to respond to calls 221 times and had to rely on mutual aid. The Fire Department would require six additional full time staff personnel to staff the second ambulance, but this is not considered a viable financial possibility for the Town at this time.
The Town Manager is proposing having per diem paramedics and EMTs to staff the second ambulance. They would work no more than 30 hours a week and would not receive any benefits. Other communities, including Windham, have adopted this approach as a way to supplement their emergency response capabilities.