Belfast OKs budget

BELFAST – The City Council gave unanimous approval to a 2006-2007 municipal budget of $7,970,608 during its meeting Tuesday.

The council appropriated an additional $1,197,515 as its share of the Waldo County budget for the coming year. The city has yet to raise funds for its portion of the SAD 34 school department budget, which is estimated to come in around $8.5 million, a figure $1.2 million higher than last year’s share of the school budget.

Voters from the school district’s six member communities will act on the proposed $22,500,000 budget on Tuesday, June 13.

After deducting expected revenues, the net amount of the municipal portion of the budget to be funded by property taxes will be $3.9 million, an increase of 5.5 percent, or $209,445, over last year’s budget.

City Manager Terry St. Peter has estimated that increases in new development around the city should absorb the entire budget increase, meaning that the municipal portion of the mill rate should remain the same as last year’s rate of $5.70 per $1,000 in valuation. The school portion of last year’s mill rate was $10.60 and the county’s was $1.70 per $1,000.

Mayor Michael Hurley remarked that based on the city’s population, the cost of the budget worked out to about $1.85 per resident per day for the cost of police and fire protection, roads, recreation and other services.

“I got a cup of coffee and a muffin today and it cost me $2.60,” Hurley told the council Tuesday.

Under administration, the city manager’s office will cost $176,735 next year; the finance department, $310,900; assessing department, $90,042; city clerk, $113,325; building maintenance, $117,810; elections, $12,100; contracted services, $86,667; agency transactions, $764,200; and boathouse, $15,915.

Under protection, the fire department will cost $173,650; police department, $809,695; streetlights, $92,500; hydrants, $316,830; cable television consortium, $24,700; municipal insurance, $238,524; ambulance, $281,740; animal control, $36,500; and school crossing guards, $10,985.

Under public works, the numbers are: highway department, $1,036,823; sidewalks, $25,000; transfer station, $262,012; road construction, $330,000; and tree program, $8,500.

Other department amounts are: social services, $172,649; economic development, $65,000; parks and recreation, $141,708; library, $369,219; cemeteries, $97,490; airport, $19,450; planning and zoning, $182,421; harbor, $92,868; promotional, $15,750; capital projects, $202,700; debt service, $530,350 and wastewater treatment, $728,483.

In other action, the council appointed the following to terms on the SAD 34 board of directors: Jeff Frank of Pitcher Road; Carol Fortin of Congress Street; Joanne Boynton of Race Street; Eric Sanders of Main Street and Susan Cobin of Miller Street.