As a Lincolnville resident for the past 12 years, I have watched with increasing alarm as our total property taxes have gone up and up. Over the past two years alone, the property tax amounts have increased by 9.2 percent and 11.5 percent. At the same time, the mill rate has increased by 8.1 percent and 9.7 percent.

If you live in Lincolnville, or anywhere else in Waldo County, this affects you. If you live in Appleton, Camden, Hope or Rockport, you should also pay attention.

My neighbor and I have obtained proposed and past budget information from Waldo County, Camden Hills Regional High School (CHRHS), the town of Lincolnville and Lincolnville School. We’ve also attended meetings, asked questions, listened carefully and learned a lot.

There are some legitimate reasons why budgets (i.e. spending) have gone up. Salaries and benefits are up; fuel costs are up so transportation costs are up, etc. But these budgets should not be growing faster than the inflation rate.

Despite the fact that our taxes have increased, it is hard to discover in the raw budget numbers exactly how services or student performance have been improved, if at all, or whether other actions have been implemented. For example, even though school enrollment is down, the school budgets are up. And why, when Lincolnville budgeted for and filled a full-time police position, didn’t Waldo County in turn eliminate a full-time police position?

Here are a few examples of why I am so concerned:

In the town of Lincolnville, there is a 3.5 percent increase in the proposed gross budget plus the county tax, over last year. Since 2002-03, the county tax in Lincolnville’s budget has increased by a whopping 101.8 percent (this tax is assessed by the Waldo County commissioners, and the town is obligated by state law to collect and remit it). Here’s one bright spot: The proposed gross municipal budget, which excludes Waldo County’s spending, is down 2 percent over last year – kudos to the town. It looks like they at least are trying to contain costs – but nobody else is.

In Waldo County, the 2006 budget, excluding reserves, is higher by 36.3 percent over three years ago. It’s up 9.4 percent in just this past year. The 2006 tax to be paid by Lincolnville residents to the county is 20.2 percent higher than one year ago. In the Five Town CSD, this year’s proposed budget is higher by 5.2 percent over last year’s. The administration budget alone is higher by 19.2 percent. The cost per student is slated to go from $14,104 in 2005 to $14,999 in 2006 – a 6.3 percent jump.

According to the Education Intelligence Agency, the cost per student at CHRHS in the 2003-04 school year was 11.1 percent higher than the average for the state of Maine, and 27.8 percent above the United States average. What’s more, all these increases are happening while the number of students decreases each year (743 in 2003-04, 730 in 2005-06 and 722 in 2006-07).

At Lincolnville School, the proposed budget is higher by 18.8 percent over last year’s (a 3.9 percent increase is to be paid by Lincolnville residents, with the remaining being paid by the state of Maine – but guess where the state gets its money?). Maine’s share for 2006-07 is $859,502, an increase in funding of 71.2 percent over last year; and transportation costs are up 13.5 percent.

All this is happening while enrollment at Lincolnville School is declining, from 236 students in 2004-05 to just 209 in 2005-06. At the same time, the cost per student has grown steadily from $8,938 in 2004-05 to $11,382 in 2005-06. If this budget is approved, the average cost per student (assuming 209) next year will be $13,522. That will be an increase of 51.3 percent per student in just three years.

Lincolnville residents will vote June 13 on the Five Town CSD budget, and June 17, at a town meeting, on the Lincolnville town and Lincolnville School budgets. It looks to me like property owners in Lincolnville, as well as in the rest of Waldo County and in Appleton, Hope, Camden and Rockport, will be hit by increases in property tax this year.

Property taxes keep going up because we keep voting yes on the proposed budgets. Is it too much to ask to slow spending increases so that they are at least no more than the inflation rate?

I’m going to vote no on the budgets this year. I hope you will join me.

If you live in Lincolnville and are tired of high property taxes and the high rate of increases, please get out and vote on June 13 and June 17.

Bob Hammer has lived in Lincolnville for 12 years. He is retired, a former business executive and business owner and is a past member of the Budget Committee of the town of Lincolnville.