MECHANIC FALLS — Town Manager Vic Hodgkins advised town councilors this week that inflation is the chief culprit behind an 8.7% increase in the proposed $1.84 million municipal budget for 2023-24.

It’s $267,727 more than this year’s $1.57 million.

At Monday night’s public hearing on the spending plan, Hodgkins said, “Unfortunately, I did not factor enough inflation  in the current budget. The current budget has been challenged all year long and continues to be challenged. ”

He pointed out the need to retain employees.

“The council has been responsive to the concept of keeping good people,” Hodgkins said. “We feel we have good employees and we want to keep them. To the degree, we have put in a 5% (cost-of-living adjustment) across the board for noncontractual employees.”

Hodgkins said that under the proposed budget, Public Works employees will also receive a pay adjustment above the 5% increase.

The spending proposal also includes a new strategy for financing roadwork, Hodgkins said. For quite some time the town has taken out a $500,000 bond to fund major roadwork. The bond is paid off in five years, but no further roadwork to speak of gets done until the next five-year bond is taken out. The result is “we’re going behind in our roads.”

Under the proposed plan, the budget has a new line of $120,000 for roadwork to be done every year.

Hodgkins said that after the current five-year bond is paid off, the town will take the $100,000 that is going to the bond payment and add it to the $120,000 roadwork line to create an annual $220,000 baseline for roadwork.

Another change in the proposed municipal budget will have taxpayers fund the Capitol Improvement line annually instead of depending on surplus funds only.

The Town Council and Budget Committee agreed to support the proposed budget, which will go to voters June 13.

In other action, councilors signed a warrant for a May 2 vote on whether to fund a 20-year, $5 million bond to repair and update the heating and ventilation systems at the three elementary schools in Mechanic Falls, Minot and Poland. The measure has been endorsed by the Regional School Unit 16 board of directors.

Councilors heard about an effort by the tri-town Girl Scout troop to raise money to help pay for a pedestrian safety light and signs at the crosswalk on Lewiston Street in front of the town office and at a crosswalk near by the Little Androscoggin River bridge. The council tabled further discussion on the issue until they get more information from the Maine Department of Transportation.

Hodgkins announced that nomination papers for positions on boards are available at the town office. The deadline for candidates to file them is Friday, April 14. Open seats include two on the Town Council, one on the RSU 16 board and one on the Sanitary District board of trustees.

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