The purpose of local government is based on something loftier than improved sidewalks, but plenty of Bangor residents would agree that the right to walk on something other than lumpy, crumbling or absent sidewalks isn’t a bad principle either. They will get them in Bangor’s new budget, and more, in a spending package that not only reduces the tax level but makes some important investments in the city.

The mill rate in Bangor will fall slightly for the second consecutive year, this time from 23.70 to 23.45 even as school funding increased by a small amount and Bangor took the appropriate step of increasing its police force to meet responsibilities that have grown over the decades while the force has not. Even with the decrease, some taxpayers will find their bills a bit higher, some a bit lower. Total spending for fiscal year 2001 will increase from the previous year by about $3 million, to $61.5 million.

The long hours devoted to building a responsible budget went mostly unrecognized as Bangor grappled with other issues, such as the placement of a methadone maintenance program. But finding the balance between meeting demands without adding appreciably to the tax burden is not easy, and much credit goes to City Manager Ed Barrett and the City Council for giving as much thought to the process as they did. It certainly helped that Mr. Barrett has assembled budgets 11 times before for the city and knows his way around its debit and credit lines.

New for the city, in addition to the police officers, is a tripling of the sidewalk repair money, to $150,000, funding for improved library services and new playground equipment and startup money to get the waterfront project really moving. The waterfront project aside, these are safety and quality of life expenses that Bangor should be willing to meet to make city a desirable and attractive place to live.

The waterfront, and its equally challenging neighbor, Bass Park, are likely to provide for lively discussions at city hall this year. Councilors are going to face some hard, expensive questions about how to most effectively invest taxpayer money in these projects and ensure in the near future that they return more to the city than they take away.

The current council seems not only capable of handling such difficult subjects but eager to take them on.