As it became clear to Auburn councilors that fixed costs, such as debt service, were going to drive up the 2027 city budget, little wiggle room remained in the operational or supplemental accounts in order for them to keep a tax increase below 10%.

Instead, they opted to hold operational and supplemental costs at about the same level, just below or a little higher than the current city budget. It resulted in a proposed operating budget, which excludes debt costs, that is almost flat.

The city’s overall proposed 2027 budget, including debt costs, the school budget and Androscoggin County budget, is $137.9 million. Of that, $63.8 million will come from property taxation. That is $5.6 million more than what was needed for this year, $58.2 million, a 9.7% increase.

Roughly $5.5 million of that is rising debt costs, including school and city bonds approved by voters in recent years.

City Manager Phil Crowell said the city’s property tax rate under the new budget has not been determined and he could provide no estimate for how much the increased tax levy will add to the average Auburn homeowner’s tax bill.

Councilors had to make several hard compromises in the budget process to stay within the 10% goal. Here are a few of those compromises.

IMPACT TO CITY STAFF

The city opted to outsource some work done by city staff, hoping it will help save on staffing costs, according to Crowell.

In addition, two city employees will be let go. The city has had conversations with those individuals, Crowell said. Hours will be reduced for a few other city staff, and three vacant city staff positions will be eliminated, he said.

SUPPLEMENTAL ITEMS

There were a few funding requests, which the city considers supplemental to the budget, not directly related to operations that the council either reduced or rejected.

LA Arts asked for $32,500, a $27,500 increase compared to last year, Crowell said. Councilors considered reducing the amount to $15,000, but ultimately opted to again give the group $5,000.

LifeFlight of Maine asked for $2,000, its typical yearly request, but councilors decided not to fill it, saying the space the city allows it to use at the Auburn-Lewiston Airport was sufficient support this year.

One supplemental request councilors were comfortable funding was to allocate $151,595 for a Maine Drug Enforcement Agency police officer for the police department, Crowell said. The city will get fully reimbursed from the state for that position.

LIBRARY FUNDING

Councilors decided to cut about $50,000 from the Auburn Public Library’s $1.24 million request, however that is $2,000 more than current city funding.

The library recently ended its service contract with Minot, costing it about $23,000 in revenue. Library trustees made that decision following pressure from city officials, who said the contract was too low. They said the city was essentially subsidizing library services for Minot, violating city rules about using Auburn tax dollars to pay for services for residents of other towns.

PARKS AND REC

Councilor Leroy Walker Sr. wanted the council to consider reinstating a stand-alone parks and recreation department. Parks are operated and maintained by the Public Works Department. However, that conversation did not make it very far into budget talks before he backed away from the idea, unsure about how much that endeavor would cost.

Walker liked the idea of a separate parks department so its staff could solely focus on city recreation spaces without being pulled away for Public Works duties.

SENIOR TAX RELIEF

Councilors decided to fund the senior tax relief program at $150,000, the same amount approved this fiscal year, despite more applications for the program, Crowell said.

Last year the city gave 147 qualified individuals relief checks with a 9% application rejection rate, amounting to a total of $125,913 spent on the program, Crowell said. This year of the 199 total applicants, taking into account the same expected rejection rate as last year, the city expects the total program payout to be around $155,000.

Should the total payout amount exceed the $150,000 budgeted for the program, the city will dip into its undesignated fund. Crowell does not expect program costs to exceed the budgeted amount by much, should it happen, he said.

The city rolled out the relief program last year and Crowell thinks the increase in applicants this year is likely due to more public awareness about it, he said.

Councilors will consider the proposed budget on first reading Monday night and hold a public hearing on it. If the council approvees the budget on second reading, it will take effect July 1.