By Scott Taylor,Staff Writer

LEWISTON – Level property taxes are the goal of city staffers as they begin budgeting for the coming year.

City Administrator Jim Bennett’s aim is to keep property taxes at $39.1 million for the coming year. That’s the amount of revenue the city took in from taxpayers for the current budget.

The final number depends on how much aid the city gets from the state and how a citywide revaluation goes.

“The fact is, the number people care about is the number they write on the check when they pay the taxes,” Bennett said. “They don’t worry about how you got that number unless it changes significantly.”

Bennett made it clear that increases won’t come from new positions. The city has about 308 full-time employees, about what it has had since 2003. The City Council reorganized the staff that year, eliminating 16 full-time jobs.

Department heads are just now beginning to review their budgets for the next fiscal year. Bennett expected to get his first look at their requests early in February and to start working on his proposed budget. He’s scheduled to present that budget to the City Council on March 21.

Property taxes have remained steady for the past few years, with councilors actually cutting taxes last year. A $3 million increase in state aid to education made that cut possible, but that help may not be available again.

The city is also in the middle of a property revaluation and Bennett expects to get preliminary results in February.

“We’re trying to get an idea of where we’ll be and what effect it will have on the budget before we go to the council,” he said.

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