The proposed 2019-2020 Town of Gorham Municipal Budget was submited to the Town Council on April 3 and can now be viewed on the Town website. The budget submission includes the property tax commitment for Cumberland County, but excludes the Gorham School Department’s budget.
The proposed gross town budget is $15,476,882 which is an increase of 4.6% from the current budget of $14,793,013. The estimated non-property tax revenue is $7,007,070, or a 5.3% increase. The funds needed from property taxes are $8,308,768, or an increase of 3.6%. The estimated property tax rate needed to support this budget, based on a local assessed value of $1,688,403,441, or $25 million more than last year, is $4.92. This is an increase of 9 cents, or 1.9%.
Additional information on new municipal valuation beyond $25 million has not been collected yet; however, it is anticipated that additional value will be compiled by the Assessors in mid to late April further decreasing the overall mil rate impact.
The proposed budget is also $3,089,770 below the Town’s LD 1 property tax limit.
Key elements of the proposed budget are highlighted below:
1. Cumberland County Property Tax: Every year, the Town is obligated to collect property tax for the Cumberland County commitment. The property tax for Cumberland County increased by $68,750, or 5.9%.
2. Addition of a Shared School Resource Officer Position with the School Department: The Gorham School Department is proposing adding an additional School Resource Officer from the Gorham Police Department for grades K-5. The Town picks up one third of the cost of this position while the Gorham School Department covers the remaining two thirds for the school year.
3. Clerk’s Office/Assessing Office Staffing: During the FY19 fiscal year, the full-time administrative assistant who was split between the Clerk’s Office and the Assessing Office was moved full-time to the Clerk’s Office for logistical staffing reasons. The Town is currently in the hiring process for a full-time Assessing Office Administrative Assistant. The proposed budget provides for funding to cover this change with the net benefit of now having one full-time administrative assistant in each department, whereas before staffing was split and customer service suffered as a result.
4. Fire Inspector from Part Time to Full Time: Gorham continues to see rapid growth despite many growth management tools and zoning changes implemented by the Town Council. As the community grows both residentially and commercially, it has become apparent that the turnaround time for inspections and permits from the Fire Dept. is not keeping pace. Last year the Gorham Fire Department became one of the first municipal departments to be able to complete commercial plan review in house. Previously, a commercial developer would have to send their plans to Augusta and wait weeks for feedback. The same process can be completed in-house now at a fraction of the time. Making the fire inspector position full-time will improve the review process, especially on commercial inspections. This position also assists with fire prevention activities.
5. Part Time Youth Services Librarian: As Gorham grows, so does the population and demand on municipal services. This has been very true in the Baxter Memorial Library with the increasing demand for youth programming. The budget proposes adding one additional twenty hour per week youth services librarian for services provided at Baxter Memorial Library for outreach to local preschools, digital advertising for youth services and additional staffing for youth based events.
6. Creation of a Municipal IT Position: In the past, the municipal departments of the Town of Gorham contracted for services with the Gorham School Department’s Office
of Technology. As the IT needs of the School Dept. have grown over the last several years, its ability to provide the same services to municipal departments has been reduced. The proposed budget creates one dedicated IT position that will be staffed through municipal departments while still contracting to a limited degree with the School Dept. for shared resources that they maintain like internal computer servers, phone systems and other logistical support.
7. Recycling Costs: An additional $42,000 has been added to the Solid Waste & Recycling budget with Public Works for the anticipated cost to dispose of recycling. Although still environmentally sound and more cost effective than solid waste, recent volatility in global recycling markets has created this additional expense to dispose of recycled goods.
8. Full Time Economic Development Position: For FY 20, the Town proposes changing the Economic Development Director position from the current part-time staffing level to full-time. Gorham has been able to obtain steady commercial growth over the years, but compared to our neighbors, we have not been as aggressive in recruiting new businesses to come to town while also addressing the needs of our existing businesses. The full-time director would report to the Director of Community Development (formally the Zoning Administrator) and work to implement the economic development vision of the Town Council.
To view the proposed budget in full, go to www.gorham-me.org. Specific inquiries may be directed the Town Manager’s Office at 222-1650.