ROCKLAND, Maine — Rockland for decades has had the unenviable position of having a property tax rate well above the state average.
But reduced state aid to the city and its regional school district, plus higher operating costs, have created a situation that could hike property taxes. For example, a city home valued at $150,000 would see its tax bill rise by $355 if the Rockland school and municipal spending plans were passed today.
This has led to proposals such as cutting the city’s recreation staff and possibly seeking an outside organization to run the center, and reducing staff hours and hours of operation at the library. The financial squeeze also has led to finger pointing, with some city officials urging the public to make cuts in the school budget.
The school board was divided over the district budget, approving the $25.9 million spending package last week on a 5-4 vote. The most contentious issue was the decision not to consolidate the two middle schools into one and the two high schools into one to save money.
The City Council voted Monday to urge residents to turn out for a May 21 district budget meeting to push for and enact cuts in what the board has recommended.
Board member Esther “Tess” Kilgour of Rockland is a vocal critic of the school budget and has turned out for two City Council meetings this week to encourage residents to attend. On Wednesday night, she reiterated her plea as the council was looking at cutting library and recreation services. Kilgour voted last week against the school budget as a board member.
The $25.9 million proposed RSU 13 budget for 2015-16 is 5 percent less than the current school budget. The decrease is because of the loss of St. George. The amount of property taxes needed to pay for the expenditures, however, is up sharply for a combination of reasons, a decline in state aid and a loss of revenues from St. George.
On the municipal side, the proposed 2015-16 budget is $11,380,000, up nearly 5 percent ($515,000). The increase is in part because of pay increases and higher benefit costs for employees as well as more money for technology. The city also has seen its annual state revenue sharing drop by more than $250,000 from a few years ago.
Rockland’s property tax rate is $20.16. A person owning a home assessed at $150,000 paid $3,024 in taxes during the past year. The projection for the new tax rate is $22.53, which would hike that homeowner’s taxes by $355, to reach $3,379.
The city’s largest taxpayer, FMC Corporation, could see its tax bill jump by $47,000 under the projected rate.
For a Rockland homeowner, the largest portion of the property tax bill will go to the schools. That person owning a $150,000 home would pay $1,783 for schools. Another $1,456 goes for municipal services, and the remaining $140 goes for Knox County services.
The largest expenditure in the municipal budget is the police department at nearly $2 million. The fire department budget comes in second highest at $1.64 million, public works at $1.6 million, debt repayment of nearly $1.1 million, and the costs of hydrants and streetlights at $618,000.
The two departments that are receiving the most attention are library and recreation. The library budget is proposed at $564,000 and the recreation budget at $371,000.
For the library, $413,000 of the costs are for personnel expenses. There are six full-time employees and several part-time workers. The library is open 61 hours per week including four hours on Sunday. City councilors are arguing that the city spends more tax dollars on the library than many larger communities.
For the recreation center, there are two full-time employees and several part-time employees. Councilors asked that the city manager look to see if there are outside organizations that could bid to operate the facility and programs.
City councilors have pointed out repeatedly that Rockland’s spending is greater than similar-sized communities and must be more in line with the average.
The Maine Bureau of Revenue Services compiles a list each year of full-value property tax rates that shows what a comparison of rates are for all municipalities when the rates are adjusted to 100 percent of market value. The adjustments made by the state in its computation results in different numbers than what the municipalities set for their tax rates.
On Thursday, the state released the newest full value tax rates, for 2013, which shows that Rockland’s rate was $20.29, compared with a state average of $14.49. This places Rockland as the 37th highest rate in the state, down from its 27th ranking in 2012.
Rockland is a county seat, and many social service agencies, the courts, and retail businesses are located here. Bath, which also is a county seat and which city officials have used for comparison of city expenses, had a full value tax rate of $20.28 for 2013.
At the Wednesday meeting, 140 people turned out to voice support for the recreation and library departments. Supporters of those departments spoke of the importance of the programs and suggested that cuts be made evenly through all departments.
Councilor Valli Geiger said, however, that a large tax hike was not an option.
“It’s not about not supporting the library. It’s not about being cultural barbarians. It’s about how many people will be driven out of their homes,” Geiger said.