The Lincoln County Board of Commissioners approved a $17.5 million budget for fiscal year 2026 during their regular meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 2.
As approved, expenditures total $17,533,290, a $707,058 or 4.2% increase over the previous year. Including $2,209,072 in incoming revenue, the net impact for Lincoln County’s 19 towns is $15,324,218, a $515,847 or 3.48% increase from fiscal year 2025.
According to Lincoln County Administrator Carrie Kipfer, standard union contact increases and an overall 7.7% increase to health insurance premiums were some of the biggest contributors to the total budget amount. She commended this year’s budget committee for reducing the overall budget increase.
The office of the district attorney was among the most discussed categories in the weeks leading up to the commissioners’ vote.
The Lincoln County Budget Advisory Committee recommended a $1 allocation for the district attorney’s office. Nobleboro Select Board member Richard Powell said the recommendation was tied to community concerns as Lincoln County residents see repeated offenders’ cases deferred or plead down.
District Attorney Natasha Irving said at an Oct. 30 budget workshop that the recommended amount would hurt her staff members. According to state statute, county commissioners are legally obligated to provide adequate funding to the district attorney’s office.
Commissioners ultimately approved the district attorney’s request of $509,858, which includes a $38,820 or 8.24% increase from last year. Personnel services decreased $4,536 or 1.64%, falling to $272,252 and employee benefits rose $47,306 or 31.21% to $198,856.
During the Tuesday, Dec. 2 meeting, the commissioners’ only adjustment to the proposed budget was adding $10,000 for the community programs category. Commissioner David Levesque said the added funds would go to the Elder Care Network of Lincoln County. The allocation was amended to $325,772, a $216,443 or 197.97% increase from last year.
The Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office budget rises to $5,300,573, a $194,214 or 3.8% increase. That number includes $349,691 in revenue from the sheriff’s office, rising $111,391 or 46.74% from last year. The net impact to Lincoln County taxpayers is $4,950,882, a $82,823 or 1.7% increase.
Within the sheriff’s office budget, the personnel services line totals $3,131,106, an increase of $57,674 or 1.88% from last year. The employee benefits line item will go up by $142,440 or 10.65% to $1,480,217.
The communications budget is $2,145,990, a $84,364 or 4.09% increase from fiscal year 2025. The largest single increase is personnel services, rising $101,763 or 8.22% to $1,339,739. Employee benefits increased by $43,401 or 7.24% to $643,201.
With $92,000 worth of revenue from communications, the net impact for taxpayers is $2,053,990, posing a $69,364 or 3.5% increase.
Probate’s $301,717 budget marks an $11,981 or 4.14% increase. Including $175,000 of stable probate revenue, $126,717 is the net impact, an increase of $11,981 or 10.44%.
The administration budget rose $55,414 or 6.4% to $921,439. The 2026 budget reflects a $53,881 loss of revenue. The largest line item changes are a $29,959 or 5.96% increase in personnel services, growing to $532,933 and a $17,330 or 7.25% increase to employee benefits, which add up to $256,406.
Emergency management is set to receive $350,864, a $37,478 or 9.65% decrease. Contractual services total $44,350, falling $12,000 or 21.3% from last year, and employee benefits decreased by $10,174 or 8.83% to $105,096.
As of now, Kipfer said it’s unclear if the department will receive Federal Emergency Management Agency funds, so emergency management revenue was reduced to zero from $63,742 last year.
The deeds budget for 2026 is $283,011, a $6,374 or 2.3% increase. With a stable $465,000 worth of deeds revenue, the category lessens the budget’s total tax impact by $181,989, which is $6,374 or 3.38% more than last year.
The deeds budget also includes a $5,075 or 4.03% increase in personnel services, rising to $131,082 and employee benefits, increasing $6,049 or 7.09% to $91,369.
Within the planning category, personnel services rose to $14,806 or 4.51% to $343,452. The entire budget category poses a $61,326 or 17.58% decrease, adding up to a $287,534 taxpayer impact.
In the recycling budget, personnel increased by $6,464 or 2.06% to $320,105 and contractual services total $115,185, a $4,950 or 4.12% drop.
The biggest change to the category was its revenue. Recycling revenue fell $44,000 or 17.05% short compared to last year, totaling $214,000. Recycling’s net impact comes out to $455,775, a $42,709 or 10.34% jump from last year.
The court budget adds up to $212,740, an increase of $14,385 or 7.25%. The category includes $171,855 in court revenues, $17,530 or 9.26% less than last year. Those totals lead to a $40,885 net impact, posing a $31,915 or 355.80% increase from fiscal year 2025.
The buildings budget includes $164,863 for personnel services, rising $7,365 or 4.68%; $91,072 for benefits, up $4,958 or 5.76%; and a $18,500 or 8.23% growth in contractual services, increasing to $243,360. Overall the building budget increases $30,823, or 5.37%, rising to $604,795.
Contractual services for Two Bridges Regional Jail is level funded at $2,420,839.
The jail transport budget is $919,963, a $89,117 or 10.73% increase from 2025. Calculating $320,319 in revenue from the jail transport programs, the net budget impact is $599,644, representing a $88,515 or 17.32% increase from the current fiscal year.
Debt service will total zero this year, marking a $645,750 or 100% decrease from 2025.
Reserve accounts, totaling $71,065, are down $62,435 or 46.77%.
The budget includes a $1,717,000 capital improvements line item, an increase of $807,000 or 88.68% more than the current fiscal year.
The next Lincoln County Board of Commissioners meeting will be at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 16 at the Lincoln County Courthouse. For more information, go to lincolncountymaine.me or call 882-6311.
