MECHANIC FALLS – The $2 million municipal budget passed at Saturday’s meeting won’t require raising a penny more from property taxes than the $1.05 million raised this year to run the town.

Town manager John Hawley noted that property taxes will go down if next Tuesday’s referendum on the regional school budget supports action taken last Wednesday.

If Tuesday’s referendum passes, Mechanic Falls will see a $92,000 drop in property taxes. This will, according to Hawley, lower the tax rate by $18.30 per $1,000 property valuation to about $17.80.

Hawley recounted how the losses in other non-property tax revenues challenged the Budget Committee and the Town Council in their efforts to present a budget that wouldn’t raise property taxes.

“We put together a budget that works around a $130,000 loss in revenues,” Hawley said. “It adds no new services and no new positions; it has no new or increased benefits and no wage increases.”

With few objections, voters approved amendments to 13 spending articles, which cut $36,000 from the officially posted warrant.

The council and Budget Committee came up with the amendments a week ago upon hearing that Augusta had made additional cuts in revenue-sharing funds going to towns.

Recreation Committee member Melissa Hodgkin pointed out that in three years, the amount raised for recreation has fallen from $8,100 to $6,630 to $3,712. The last reduction was part of a last-minute effort to trim the $36,000.

“I’m upset that they took it out of the kids,” Hodgkin said. “I don’t know what will happen. We may have to increase what the kids have to pay or get creative in fundraising.”

Resident Dave Griffiths noted that the budget didn’t appear to address problems with the town’s crumbling infrastructure.

“What are you going to do about Elm Street? The lower end is in terrible shape,” Griffiths said.

Hawley noted that this year, the town is making final payment on a five-year public improvement bond and perhaps next year the town would be in a position to bond more for improvements. He said the estimate to fix Elm Street was $1.2 million.

“We have $20,000 set aside for Elm Street sidewalks and are putting in another $20,000 this year,” Hawley said.

Budget Committee Chairman Carl Beckett cautioned the gathering that if the voters in November approved the referendum altering the vehicle excise tax law, the town budget would be in trouble.

“If it passes, it will mean we’ll have to cut another $175,900 out of this budget we’re working on this morning, and I don’t know where that could come from,” Beckett said.

Hawley thanked the 40 people who came out “to participate in one to the last purest forms of the democratic process.”