Old Town councilors urge cuts to school, dispatch budgets

OLD TOWN – The City Council sharpened its budget ax Thursday night, first telling the city’s school board to cut $150,000 from its request for a budget increase and later giving temporary approval to cutting the city’s four-person dispatching department to 21/2 positions.

The cut, if it becomes final, gives Old Town minimal dispatching services locally and effectively enrolls the city for services with the Penobscot County Regional Communications Center in Bangor.

Joining regional dispatch has caused controversy in Bangor, which recently voted not to consider the matter this year. Lincoln is the only other Penobscot County community not using regional dispatching services.

Bangor’s decision to forgo the program in favor of its own dispatching service paved the way for Old Town to reconsider the measure.

On a motion by Councilor Jeff Plourde, the Old Town panel voted 5-1, with Alan Reynolds in opposition, to give preliminary approval to the measure that will afford the city more than $147,000 in savings in a $7.1 million budget proposal.

School expenditures total $12.1 million, while Penobscot County taxes total $428,639.

A public hearing on the entire 2002-03 municipal and school budget proposal will be held June 3 at Old Town High School.

The council then discussed cutting an assistant city manager position before the finance director reminded councilors that they already had cut more than $230,000 from the municipal budget and had achieved a goal of keeping the tax increase to 1 mill.

The city tax rate is about 23 mills, or $23 per $1,000 of assessed valuation.

The first hour of the council meeting was turned over to a school budget presentation by Superintendent Owen Maurais, followed by a somewhat blunt discussion about cuts.

Backed by the Old Town school board, Maurais said the budget reflects a desire to move local schoolchildren forward to meet stricter requirements put forth by the state Learning Results.

The budget reflects increases to help pay for the new $13 million elementary school under construction on Stillwater Avenue, for which the town has to kick in $3 million over several years. Other increases reflect salary and benefit hikes. The school budget eliminates some positions, including a high school English teacher; transforms at least one position into a more specialized reading education role; and adds other positions, such as two aides to monitor all study halls at Old Town High School.

The school department sought an increase in local tax commitment of $630,143, about 15.8 percent more than last year. That amount has shocked area senior citizens and business owners who have been vocal to the City Council about their concerns.

School board members staunchly defended the budget. David Wollstadt presented statistics that showed the city ranks 29th out of 55 communities of similar size in per pupil cost and last year ranked very low – 53rd on the list of 55 similar communities – for the amount of the mill rate raised for education.

Led by City Councilor Linda McCloud, the council issued the $150,000 cut directive. McCloud expressed misgivings about the school system’s goal to start a gifted and talented program at a cost of $45,000. Maurais said the state has mandated that all schools have a gifted and talented program in place by next year.

“The hair starts to rise on the back of my head when it gets to the point that the state tells us what we have to do locally,” said McCloud.

Reacting later to the City Council’s $150,000 cut directive, Maurais said the amount “cuts across the fabric of the school system.”

Maurais said the school board will meet Wednesday, May 29, to discuss what items to cut.

An administrative team earlier drew up a list of suggested cuts. They include $10,000 to reduce “B” sports programs at the Leonard Middle School, $22,500 for a new special education teacher at the high school, $1,000 for a music stipend for the elementary school honors band, and a $2,500 stipend for the high school’s popular jazz band. The list includes cutting the new ROTC program at the high school at a $50,000 savings, but that cut is unlikely to occur.