LISBON —Lisbon voters approved a $17.6 million school budget on Tuesday, which increases taxes 2%.
The school budget was approved 1,056 to 746, according to unofficial election results.
Of the voters who opposed the school budget, 689 voters indicated that it was because it was too high, while 108 opposing voters said the budget was too low. Another 1,005 voters didn’t answer the advisory question included on Lisbon’s school budget ballot.
The election drew a 27% voter turnout in Lisbon, where there are 6,721 registered voters. There were 1,838 ballots cast. Town Clerk Twila Lycette estimated about 828 were absentee ballots.
The school budget will increase local taxes by $148,699, bumping up the tax rate 23 cents per $1,000 of property value. That equates to an additional $46 on a home valued at $200,000. The town’s share of the Androscoggin County budget would add another 8 cents per $1,000 of assessed value.
Despite those increases, Lisbon Town Manager Diane Barnes said she hopes the overall tax rate will remain flat because the proposed $8.9 million municipal budget the town council adopted in June decreases the tax rate by 50 cents per $1,000 of value.
For a home valued at $200,000, that would mean $100 off the tax bill.
The $8.9 million municipal budget is a $323,939 — or 3.5% — decrease from the current $9.2 million budget. However, Barnes said she expects the decrease will be negated by the loss in revenue brought on by the pandemic, plus increases in the school and county budgets. She is hoping the tax rate will be flat in fiscal year 2020-21.
Factors for the 2% increase included funding for a trauma coordinator to create programs and help teachers respond to students with behavioral issues exacerbated by coronavirus disruptions. School committee Chairwoman Traci Austin said the remaining tax increases are due to contractual salary and benefit increases.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.