Old Town residents’ property taxes will spike nearly 10 percent and the city will cut 11 full-time and four part-time employees to fix its budget gap.
The Old Town City Council approved a $16.7 million budget on Monday, which is a $124,490 decrease from last year’s budget. The decrease comes from large cuts to city hall and public works positions that offset a nearly $375,000 increase in the public safety budget.
The rising tax rate stems from Nine Dragons Paper closing the Old Town mill in 2023. Old Town’s revenue plummeted by $2 million in property and business taxes after the closure.
Previous drafts of the budget included cutting four firefighters, though the city ultimately decided to retain two of those positions. Firefighters opposed to the cuts spoke about their work-life balance and the risks with having four fewer first responders.
The 9.94 percent tax increase pushes the tax rate to $19.46. That rate, which is decided through municipal, county and school budgets, means a home worth $200,000 would receive a tax bill of $3,892 and a home worth $400,000 would pay $7,784.
Old Town councilors also approved the regional school unit’s $6.4 million budget, a 2.85 percent increase from last year. The increase comes from salary increases across the school. The county tax increased by 11.4 percent over the same period.
