LEWISTON – Taxpayers might not escape this year without their taxes increasing, according to City Administrator Jim Bennett.

Bennett outlined a depressing list of pressures for city councilors Tuesday night as he handed over his proposed budget for fiscal year 2008.

They included higher costs across the board, less revenue from the state and city fees and unknowns where the school budget and property values are concerned.

It all adds up to a $2.5 million budget increase and 10.9 percent increase in property tax collections. That could mean tax bills $113.48 higher for owners of average homes.

“The council has never just adopted staff’s budget, and I don’t think this year will be any different,” he said. “Council has always done its work and reduced the budget.”

It won’t be easy this year, however. In the past, Bennett has always come up with creative ways to shift budget costs. Past solutions have included creating a storm utility fee program and reducing staff size by 8 percent.

But Bennett said Tuesday he was out of tricks.

“I have no magic bullets because there really are none,” he said. Councilors need to make policy decisions and decide where to save, how to trim budget and when to increase taxes, he said.

“Part of it is, I think people really need to see exactly what we’re doing and why,” he said. “Councilors need to drive this, and they need to have that policy discussion.”

Councilors will take executive summaries home Tuesday and should get full budget books on Friday, Bennett said. They’ll take up the matter again at a March 27 workshop meeting.

It’s going to be a long process, they said.

“I think this year, there will be an increase in taxes but how much is not determinable yet,” said Ward 4 Councilor Ron Jean. “I can’t see a way, with everything else going on, for taxes not to go up.”

Highlights

The city revaluation proved to be one of the few possible bright spots. Real estate sales over the last few months show a city home sales market slowing. That might allow the city to get by for another year without having to reassess property values.

“The state requirement is that we stay above 70 percent,” Bennett said. That would delay a possible tax burden shift onto homeowners and might keep residential tax bills reasonable.

But the City Council may want to talk about it anyway.

“Beyond the legal question, there is a moral question,” Bennett said. “Councilors may want to discuss providing some relief to commercial taxpayers.”

Other key points of Bennett’s presentation included:

Schools unknown: With state funding for education still unknown, the Lewiston School Department has no idea what its budget would look like. It could include another $1 million from property taxes.

Storm sewer fees: Bennett suggested increasing minimum storm water fees for homeowners by $10 per year, to $40.

“We said when we created this that those fees would probably increase,” Bennett said.

Staff size: The city currently has about 14 empty positions, and Bennett said he expects some of those jobs will be cut from the budget. But he stopped short of offering deeper staffing cuts, saying he had a plan to reduce staff but would only release it to the councilors if they asked.

“It would impact virtually every department there is in the community and will for the first time impact public safety,” he said. “So, if you want to go there understand what it means. I think we are beyond the point where we can eliminate jobs and expect to provide the same levels of service.”