Bangor city councilors on Monday approved a $137.4 million spending plan for the next fiscal year, an increase of about $7 million from last year.
The new budget will lower the city’s tax rate by 85 cents, or 4.6 percent, making the new rate $17.70 per $1,000 of valuation. Although this is Bangor’s lowest tax rate in the last 15 years, residents’ tax bills could still go up if property values increase.
For a home valued at $250,000, the new rate would produce a tax bill of $4,425. In a City Council workshop Monday, Bangor City Manager Carollynn Lear said that based on the new rate, the average tax bill would be expected to increase by $147, or 3.61 percent.
The tax rate is based on the city, school, and county budgets. Total expenses this year for both the city and its schools are about $7 million higher than last year’s.
Most of this increase is driven by operating expenses for the city, coming largely from personnel costs. The city’s expenses for the upcoming year total $75.4 million, which is $4.6 million more than last year, marking an increase of more than 6 percent.
Other areas where the city has allocated more spending this year include street and sidewalk improvements, the Community Connector bus service, and enhancements to parks and outdoor spaces.
School expenses for the upcoming year total $62 million, rising by more than $2 million mainly due to contracted salary and benefit increases. The school committee initially approved a $62.3 million budget in April, but councilors said Tuesday that they asked the school committee to make additional cuts before approving the final budget.
Bangor’s fiscal year runs from July 1 to June 30.
