Facing inflation and the need to retain staff across departments, the Waldoboro Budget Committee and Select Board recommend a $6.86 million municipal budget to come before voters in June.
The recommended budget totals $6,857,917, an increase of $818,194 or 13.55%.
Town Manager Julie Keizer said this year’s budget process was the most difficult of her 38-year career in municipal government. Hundreds of thousands of dollars were cut throughout the process for a 10% reduction from initial requests, with reductions made in every department.
Public safety costs are one of the rising budget lines, now totaling $3,169,825 at an increase of $391,948 or 14.11%.
The bulk of the amount funds Waldoboro Emergency Medical Services, the Waldoboro Fire Department, and the Waldoboro Police Department.
The EMS budget totals $1,644,041, an increase of $237,473 or 16.88%. This year’s increase represents the second step of a two-year process to retain more full-time employees in place of per-diem EMS personnel, Keizer said. Salaries and benefit packages present a higher cost.
The Waldoboro Fire Department budget is $245,401, up $46,708 or 23.51%, which includes a hike in volunteer stipends from $18 per hour to $20. Keizer said this increase matches that of EMS drivers, which is based on a rate study conducted two years ago.
Discussion between the department and budget committee is likely to continue next year over higher funding requests in the department, according to Keizer, who said more time is needed for evaluation.
The police department’s budget is $1,130,167, up $102,113 or 9.93%, due largely to raises as part of staff contracts.
The public works department’s proposed budget is $1,215,068, an increase of $130,423 or 12.02%, due to contracts and rising material costs.
Public works services include road maintenance, park maintenance, winter plowing, sanding, and salting, and the operation of the Waldoboro Transfer Station.
Keizer said tipping fees, or the cost per ton to dump waste, have been a “huge driver” in the budget line this year. Hauling fees and fuel surcharges have raised costs even more.
Waldoboro is a member of the Municipal Review Committee, a group of 115 towns contracted to have their municipal waste processed by a facility in Hampden closed since 2020 in a series of financing challenges.
The town’s waste is currently sent to Norridgewock.
“We should be seeing a lot more benefit” if the Hampden plant reopens, Keizer said.
In other costs, the transfer station budget totals $451,227, an increase of $158,623 or 54.21%. This number represents Waldoboro’s portion of operation cost, which is shared with the towns of Cushing and Friendship.
Cushing’s share is $136,424 and Friendship’s $102,404 this year, according to Keizer.
Increases to the capital reserve fund were made for a number of department needs. Keizer said all will have a useful life of more than five years.
These include funds for a future ambulance purchase, public works equipment, police department communication equipment following a change at the county level, and a trailer for the transfer station.
Some line-by-line costs have shifted from last year due to a change in the distribution of municipal building costs, which are now calculated by the square footage and usage of each department.
These shifts are visible in general government costs, which have dropped to $631,490, a decrease of $60,103 or 8.69%. This budget center includes the offices of the select board, town manager, assessing, finance, town clerk, and municipal building.
Decreases are notable in the office of selectmen. The budget totals $25,765, a decrease of $36,155 or 58.39%.
Municipal building costs total $20,240, a decrease of $53,352 or 72.5%, as a result of the formula change.
Within human services, social service agency costs are up to $27,816, an increase of $23,014 or 479.26%. These are requests from outside agencies, including Healthy Kids, New Hope Midcoast, and Spectrum Generations.
This figure includes the first-ever funding request made by the Waldoboro Food Pantry for $16,000. The food pantry funding is a separate warrant article.
The budget also includes an amount for half the purchase price of a solar array owned by Sundog Solar on the town-owned landfill.
Sundog Solar is currently a third-party provider, meaning the town purchases energy from the company. Keizer said a committee is working on a formal recommendation of whether to purchase the array or continue purchasing energy from the company.
Voters will determine at the polls whether the town has the ability to do so should the committee recommend it; if purchased, the town will pay the second half next year.
Across budget lines, departments are finding ways to cut costs, such as public works’ pivot to doing vehicle maintenance in-house and a recent trade agreement swapping sand for bank-run gravel from the town-owned pit.
“We don’t have an expense problem, we have a revenue problem,” Keizer said, quoting a budget committee member.
Discussion in the budgeting process focused on what services to provide and what they would look like.
This year, she modified the budget planning structure and did not make formal recommendations as the town manager. Budget committee and select board members heard from all department heads before voting on budget lines.
Detailed budget documents are available on the town website, waldoboromaine.org, under the “Budget Committee” tab.
Waldoboro’s annual town meeting by referendum will be held on Tuesday, June 13 at the town office.
