LEWISTON — City officials will spend the next several weeks looking at cuts to next year’s proposed budget to lessen the blow from another projected property tax increase.

During a City Council budget presentation Tuesday, acting City Administrator Brian O’Malley said the proposed combined municipal and school budgets would increase the property tax rate by $1.81, to a total of $33.58 per $1,000 of valuation.

If approved as is, a home valued at $200,000 would see a tax increase of $362. However, councilors said Tuesday that they plan to work to find cuts as they comb through the budget during a series of meetings this month.

Officials are also wary of the volatility at the federal and state levels and don’t want to plan on federal dollars that may later be cut.

“We know it’s going to be a tight budget year and there is a level of uncertainty concerning both state and federal dollars across the board combined with increased costs, but delivering a budget that does not raise the (tax) rate, however unfeasible it may seem at the moment, will be my goal this year,” Councilor Josh Nagine said.

Mayor Carl Sheline said his goal is to get through budget season without any staff layoffs, which he believes will be difficult.

“We added items to the budget last year to set us up for success” in the future, he said. “Unfortunately, this year — given the current economic uncertainty and inflation — we need to hold the line.”

O’Malley said municipal spending is slated to increase $3.3 million, or 5.5%, for fiscal year 2026, with the largest increases coming from employee contracts, joint costs with Auburn for the airport, bus transportation and L-A 911, and other fixed expenses like utilities and insurance.

Because officials knew going into this year that the budget would be difficult, O’Malley said he asked all department heads not to ask for any new positions or programs.

“We wanted to do what we could to keep the tax rate down,” he said, a strategy which includes several frozen positions.

The recommendation from staff is to keep two police officer positions, three highway worker positions and three mechanic positions frozen.

To keep up with capital expenses, the city is proposing to use $6.9 million in the fund balance — essentially its rainy day fund. The city has $24 million in the fund balance. A city policy says the city should maintain between 8% and 12% of its total budget in the fund balance. Using $6.9 million would put the city at about 10%.

According to O’Malley’s presentation, city revenues are projected to be up, but only by $417,000. He said the city’s assessed value is up $19 million, or 0.84%, but officials were hoping that number would be higher, especially given the NECEC converter station project.

It’s clear that new programs or added positions are unlikely to be supported. Nagine said, “This isn’t the year for new programming, especially with a new administrator taking over in May.”

Sheline argues that it’s “irresponsible and unproductive” for the council to be talking about new programs and services with no money to fund them.

“To put it plainly, we can’t be wasting time talking about things we can’t afford,” he said.

O’Malley said the city has lost some taxable properties in the past year to county and state government. On the county side, the city’s share of the Androscoggin County assessment is $4.4 million, a 14.5% increase.

Councilor David Chittim said Lewiston pays the “lion’s share” of the county budget but doesn’t use many of the services it pays for, including emergency dispatch.

Heading into the budget season, the school budget outlook is more rosy than a year ago due to higher revenues of $8.8 million. The initial proposed budget by the school department has expenditures up $7.49 million. As is, the municipal budget would account for $1.12 of the tax increase, with the school department adding 46 cents.

The council and School Committee are also scheduled to hold a joint session Monday.

Officials are also calling for 20% increases for sewer and stormwater utility rates. O’Malley said the rates have remained flat for many years.

The city is also working on a property revaluation that is likely being factored into the long-term economic planning of the city.