LEWISTON – City budget savings in a post-tax-cap Lewiston could take the form of increased user fees and cuts to nonessential services, according to City Administrator Jim Bennett.

Bennett set the tone for budget talks Tuesday night as city councilors met with four citizens to come up with a spending plan for the city assuming a 1 percent property tax gets voter approval in November.

The group will meet Tuesdays and Wednesdays for the next few weeks, putting together a report by Oct. 19 – two weeks before the Nov. 2 election.

The city would need to trim about $25 million off of its existing budget or find a way replace the revenue, Bennett said.

“We would have staff give the group an idea of what their departments would look like under this budget,” Bennett said. “Then it would be up to you to look at that.”

Councilors agreed to form the group at their last meeting. Mayor Lionel Guay and councilors were joined by Maine Family Credit Union President Ronald Fournier, attorney Stephen Kottler, local contractor Ron Comeau and accountant Robert Reed. Those four – and two others who didn’t attend Tuesday – contacted councilors and volunteered to sit on the panel.

On Tuesday, Bennett gave the group some guiding principles for the discussions. He suggested that the city should only provide services that the private sector cannot – such as fire protection and issuing birth certificates, for example. The city should avoid charging fees for services that everybody in the city receives equally and should try to keep wages competitive for city employees. He also put public safety high on his list of services that should be protected.

It will be tough to do all that and reduce property taxes by $25 million, he said.

“Fire service is demanded by everyone, so we wouldn’t charge a use fee for that,” Bennett said. However, a special hazardous material vehicle might be needed by a handful of local businesses. Those businesses might be charged a special fee if that vehicle is ever called out, he suggested.

Councilor Normand Rousseau said he wanted some commitment that budget-saving ideas the group comes up with would be used even if the tax cap fails.

“I would hope that there are ideas here we could implement, no matter what happens,” Rousseau. “I’d hope that we wouldn’t just throw it all away and say, Ah, well. Business as usual.'”

Guay said that was doubtful.

“I think it’s pretty clear that if it’s not this, it’s something else coming down the road,” Guay said. “Even if this cap fails, it sends a pretty strong message that taxes need to change.”