LEWISTON — City councilors learned Tuesday evening that if a supermajority — five of the seven councilors — doesn’t vote in favor of a new budget before the end of May, the city administrator will decide what the 2027 budget looks like. And he has some ideas. 

According to the city’s charter, if the burden on taxpayers from next year’s total budget is more than 3.3% higher than the current burden, the council must pass its city budget with a supermajority vote. It is currently much higher than 3.3%.

The estimated total tax burden for 2027 includes the proposed city operating budget including debt of about $68 million, a $5.33 million county budget, and a $130.6 million school budget. That adds up to about $203 million.

When non-tax revenue the city is expecting is subtracted from the $203 million, the tax burden is expected to be $84.43 million to $85.28 million, an increase from the current burden of 11.3% to 12.4%.

Because the burden is over the 3.3% limit, if the council fails to pass a budget by a supermajority by the end of May, City Administrator Bryan Kaenrath’s proposed version of the budget would be automatically adopted. It’s not a budget all council members care for.

Kaenrath’s budget proposes no cuts to city staff.

“That will be back to Tier 1,” Kaenrath said, referencing his April 14 presentation of three “tiers” of potential cuts to the proposed $68.13 million budget for 2027, which is a 6.6% increase over the current budget of $63.4 million. 

The Tier 1 proposal reflected a 6.1% increase over the current budget by way of further trimming but no cuts to city staff.

Tier 2 proposed the trims in Tier 1 plus cutting three staff positions, which would result in a budget 5.6% or 5.4% higher than the current budget, depending on whether or not new vehicle purchases and a vehicle take-home program for police are included.

Tier 3 included the trims in Tier 1 plus cutting eight city positions. It would mean a budget increase of 4.8% or 4.6% depending on the vehicle add-ons.

Councilors previously showed an informal consensus of 5-2 for Tier 3, but upon learning the need for a supermajority, some councilors Tuesday night reconsidered. 

When an informal poll was taken to determine if the Tier 3 option still had a supermajority vote, Ward 5 Councilor Chrissy Noble rejoined councilors Susan Longchamps of Ward 2 and Michael Roy of Ward 4 in support of the Tier 1 option.

Mayor Carl Sheline, absent from the Tuesday workshop, said he was encouraged by the council’s move away from Tier 3. 

“I’m pleased that staff cuts are off the table for the moment and I’m hopeful that we can wrap up this process soon,” Sheline said. “There are no ‘fluff’ positions at the city; we need everyone. Administration has done an excellent job getting us a budget that’s as lean as possible while avoiding cuts to city services.”

Ward 1 Councilor Joshua Nagine suggested that since a supermajority vote is not achievable for the time being, and the Tier 1 option is likely if no decision can be made, councilors ought to address line items directly for possible cuts.

Nagine said the council should explore freezing all hiring, cutting down on overtime and eliminating nonessential programs to further reduce the budget without affecting existing positions.

“If, now, we’re not talking about eliminating positions, I want to gut all kinds of things,” Nagine said. “I apologize for taking that stance if it’s offensive to the directors who have worked hard on their budgets. But this is just — we cannot continue to see an increase over the north of CPI (consumer price index). It just can’t happen.”

“We’re taxing the same people more in order to fund the entire budget, which has not moved up in line with inflation,” Nagine said after the meeting, adding that there are two ways to combat rising costs for taxpayers: increase the tax base and reduce the overall cost for government.

“We look at so many services as essential, but (we need) to really drill down to what we actually consider essential. … Without strong economic development achievements, we have to keep our city budget and tax levy in line with inflation.”