Bucksport is cutting costs in a number of departments but won’t lay off staff as it nears the end of a particularly challenging budget process.
Councilors unanimously gave a nod Thursday to a $12.25 million overall second draft amounting to a 5.71% increase, which will head next to a public hearing. Numbers could shift before then, Town Manager Jacob Gran said, but won’t likely change significantly.
“In my opinion, we’ve asked as much as we can this year, and we’re in a good place,” Councilor Ed Rankin said.
The approval follows weeks of discussion about ways to cut spending meaningfully and rebuild savings after Bucksport’s auditor sounded an alarm last summer. Councilors said earlier in the process that job cuts remained on the table, but ultimately decided to approach potential staff reductions through attrition.
This budget season was the first since a 2025 jump in tax bills after the town drew down savings that for a decade cushioned it from losing a major taxpayer, the Verso paper mill, and were recently used to deflate taxes. An increase in property values that reduced state revenue sharing and correcting past financial practices that obscured how much the town spent also contributed to this year’s challenges, Gran previously said.
Significant changes include reductions in funding the town provides to community and social agencies, not rehiring seasonal waterfront staff, not replacing a retiring employee in the highway department and changes at the town’s transfer station including no longer accepting commercial waste and the addition of a sticker program.
Closing the fitness center at the Bucksport location of Downeast YMCA, with which the town contracts for recreation programming, is also set to save Bucksport about $50,000. Gran announced that plan Thursday but did not say when the closure will happen.
Councilors have indicated more changes are likely ahead in coming years. Members said in past meetings that they want to phase in structural adjustments to save money long term and avoid making extreme cuts all in one budget.
This budget also sends about $240,000 to Bucksport’s undesignated fund balance, or money on hand that isn’t committed to specific uses. A new fund balance policy aims to rebuild those savings over five years until the town has 60 days operating expenses saved.
That will let it pay its bills during times of the year when cash flow is low, Gran said. He added that the town’s financial health has improved.
Changes from the initial municipal budget have led to about a $415,000 reduction of the burden on taxpayers, according to Gran. The proposed municipal budget alone is about $5.8 million, an increase of 3.82%.
Together with school and county commitments, which are not controlled by the town, the total proposed budget is about $12.25 million, an increase of 5.71%. The estimated new mil rate would be $16.38, up from $15.50.
“We’ve righted a lot of wrongs here,” Mayor Paul Bissonnette said of this year’s draft.
A public hearing and budget vote is expected June 11, according to the town website.
