For many in Lincoln County, at least a portion of property taxes were due before Oct. 1.
As we reported through the budgeting cycle, most municipalities in the county saw significant increases. Regardless of the warnings, this year was another doozy when many opened their tax bills. Sometimes the 15-20% increase doesn’t really hit home until you are confronted with that number and have to adjust the household budget to come up with the additional funds.
While renters may not immediately be hit with the sticker shock of property owners, rents will have to adjust to account for the increase costs either in the coming months or years.
Costs for materials, labor, benefits, and services keep increasing each year. The education budgets have received much attention as they make up the largest part of the property tax calculation.
Many of the costs are out of the control of our local elected officials. Are there places that they could cut? Absolutely, but it would almost always result in the loss of a service.
In the spirit of looking for ways to save taxpayer funds, we commend the towns of Damariscotta and Newcastle for exploring ways that the Twin Villages might combine services for the long-term benefit of their residents’ wallets.
This is not to say that the current endeavor will or will not result in a savings, but the effort to investigate and look at alternatives is what we hope all officials are willing to explore.
The manner in which this process is unfolding should also be applauded. There have been open meetings, transparent discussion, and an invitation from the public to express their opinions. We expect that as the process proceeds, the management of both towns will continue to pursue an open format for studying the potential impact of recombining the public works departments and potentially taking on more duties.
Regardless of what the final outcome will be, times are tough financially. We hope everyone charged with overseeing taxpayer funds can look at alternative and inventive ways to save some money while maintaining the services we have all come to expect.
