ROCKLAND, Maine — The City Council voted unanimously Wednesday evening to approve a $12.3 million municipal budget that leaves in question whether Rockland will have a full-time staff attorney.
The council also voted unanimously to appoint Assistant City Manager Audra Caler Bell as acting manager.
At the Wednesday night meeting, the council left the account for both legal and planning services at $130,000. Councilors agreed to meet at a later point on how to divvy up that money and whether a full-time attorney will continue to be funded once Kevin Beal leaves on Sept. 30.
The $12.3 million budget, coupled with the already approved Regional School Unit 13 and Knox County budgets, means the tax rate is likely to increase by 59 cents per $1,000 of assessment. A person owning a home assessed at $150,000 would see the tax bill increase by $89.
The council added $10,000 to the budget with $5,000 going to the St. Bernard’s soup kitchen and $5,000 for the Area Interfaith Outreach food pantry. The addition was proposed by Mayor Louise MacLellen-Ruf and Councilor Valli Geiger.
The council debated whether to offset that increase by reducing the contribution to Rockland Main Street by $10,000 but in the end, the council opted to keep that Main Street advocacy organization money at $30,000 as recommended.
“I’m a huge supporter of Rockland Main Street. The downtown is the heart of the city,” Councilor William Clayton said.
The largest account in the budget is public services at nearly $3.1 million. This is nearly the same amount as last year. The $2,061,000 Police Department budget is up from $1.93 million. The general government accounts are at about $2 million total, up from $1.9 million. The combined Fire and Emergency Medical Services department is $1,882,000 million, up from about $1,846,000. Debt service is $1 million, down from $1.3 million.
The council also approved the separate wastewater treatment plant budget for 2016-2017 at $4,246,940. This account is paid for largely through sewer user fees.
The appointment of Caler Bell as acting manager comes two weeks after James Chaousis resigned.
The council pointed out that Caler Bell will serve in the role for a short time until the council can find a long-term acting manager.
Caler Bell was hired in January 2015 as economic and community development director and in October 2015 was appointed assistant city manager.