RUMFORD — Voters approved all budget items Tuesday, according to Town Clerk Beth Bellegarde.
Town Manager Stacy Carter said the 2022-23 municipal budget shows an increase of $338,492, or 3.5%. He said the budget of $10,238,846 is still under the LD 1 tax limit, which is $7.3 million.
Carter noted, “That doesn’t mean that we’re $3 million over our tax levy limit because there’s a formula that has to be applied on the amount of growth you had, how much you didn’t use last year and (are) able to carry forward. Another part is that the budget does not reflect revenues the town brings in.”
In elections, incumbents Christopher Brennick and Frank DiConzo ran unopposed to win three-year terms on the Board of Selectpersons. For a one-year opening on the Regional School Unit 10 board of directors among write-in candidates, Jeffrey Sterling defeated Candice Casey, 141-16.
Carter said the town departments, for the most part, have kept their budgets down. The exception was the police department budget, which had a 15% budget increase.
“A lot of that has to do with their overtime budget. We’re down one officer. There’s a shortage of 300 police officers in the state, so municipalities are raising wages and we need to stay competitive so that we don’t lose anybody and we’re able to attract to fill our vacant positions,” he said. “Further, the call volume is up. They’ve been busier than ever.”
Carter said, “There is no increase in this budget in regards to the (new) fire station. The money we received from the TIF (Tax Increment Financing) extension (Rumford Power) is paying any cost for the fire station over the next few years. By then, there’ll be significant increases in valuation with the projects that are underway in the future.”
Carter said that because the budget is up 3.5%, it does not mean that the tax rate is going up 3.5%.
“We still have a lot of information that we have to gather before (we) fix the mill rate. But we’ve had increased revenue sharing. We’re currently waiting on evaluations because we have new development that’s going to add tax base, but we have depreciation in other businesses that may lower their valuations. So we don’t know what the bottom line is yet, with we have positive or negative number in valuation, but my thought right now is that we’re probably going to hold the line.”
In a nonbinding advisory poll, voters declined (244 yes, 406 no) to support the town raising and appropriating an estimated $600,000 to repair and improve the Rumford Center Meeting House.
The 1828 building is Rumford’s original town hall and meeting place.
Carter said the building has significant historical value to the town. There are code issues with the building, structural foundation issues, and to continue to utilize that building, it needs work. “But it’s not a building that’s falling down.”
The building is currently used by a volunteer group in Rumford Center called the Village Improvement Society.
“We’ve looked at grants,” Carter said. “The grants that are available are fairly small.”
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