AUBURN — The Androscoggin County Commission will hold a public hearing Wednesday on the proposed $20.3 million budget for 2025.

At nearly $2 million more than the current budget, if passed with no changes it will raise the county taxes by more than 15%.

Expenditures are expected to increase by 10.6%, while anticipated revenues are expected to fall by 4.6%.

The meeting will be held Wednesday on the second floor of the courthouse in Auburn starting at 5:15 p.m.

County Administrator Jeffrey Chute told commissioners last month when he presented the budget that a majority of the increase is for fixed costs such as salary increases from union contracts, a 2.54% cost-of-living adjustment for nonunion employees, a new budget line to compensate employees for unused vacation time upon separation or retirement, and the reestablishment of a county reserve account.

The reserve accounts were depleted during the past few years to lessen the tax impact, Chute said. Those funds are no longer available.

Perhaps the largest increase will be the cost of boarding inmates at other facilities due to overcrowding at the Androscoggin County Jail, Chute said. The average headcount at the jail is 215 inmates, while the jail is rated by the state to serve 160 inmates. The situation forces the county to pay to send inmates to other facilities across the state.

Overcrowding also affects the county revenue line. Due to high headcounts, the facility can no longer house federal prisoners, which previously brought in needed revenue.

The budget increase could have been worse. The availability of pandemic relief, or the American Rescue Plan Act funds allowed the county to make purchases that would normally be part of the operating budget. These one-time purchases have minimized the impact on the budget, Chute said.

Those funds will not be available next year.

Commissioners have held a series of budget workshops during the past two months so department heads could defend their budget increases.

Following the public hearing Wednesday, commissioners could make some budget cuts before sending the entire preliminary package to the county Budget Committee for their consideration. The Budget Committee is made up of public officials and residents from the municipalities in Androscoggin County.

Those meetings begin Wednesday, Sept. 25.

In addition to the public hearing this week, commissioners will also consider likely the last of the county’s ARPA funding for the Emergency Management Agency, the town of Lisbon for water issues, the town of Greene for broadband service, Literacy Volunteers, the Franco Center and any last-minute county projects.