Health insurance costs for the School Department will go up 6.95 percent.

LEWISTON – Conservative school budgeting could mean lower taxes, city officials learned Thursday.

A potential tax rate hike was down another dime thanks to School Department workers’ compensation savings, said City Administrator Jim Bennett. The school board earmarked $144,000 more than it will likely need in its 2004-05 budget for workers compensation claims.

“For the first time this season, I can say that a zero increase is possible,” Bennett said. He added that the school board might have some more room in the health insurance budget, as well. He promised to work with School Superintendent Leon Levesque see how much savings is possible.

Bennett and the City Council are working to trim a 55 cent tax rate hike per $1,000 of value. Tuesday, Bennett said the city could trim that increase to 20 cents with a combination of increased fees and accounting moves.

Levesque said the school workers’ compensation budget was based on December numbers. The committee approved that budget in March and the workers compensation requirements have come down $144,000 since then.

Levesque said he also budgeted for a 13 percent increase in health insurance costs. That increase is now expected to be about 6.95 percent, and that could mean another $160,000 for school district.

The city shouldn’t plan on taking it all, cautioned committee Chairman Jim Handy. The school still needs $86,000 to fully fund an all-day kindergarten program and another $48,000 in special education costs.

“We didn’t put that money in the budget just to cut it,” Levesque said.

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