The Rockland City Council voted unanimously Monday to approve a $13.5 million municipal spending package, leaving open positions vacant and relying more on property taxes to make up for a revenue shortfall.
Due largely to the impending closure of the city’s quarry landfill, the city was facing a revenue shortfall of about $580,000. City employees were able to pare that shortfall to about $190,000 before the budget proposal was sent to city councilors.
Adding the implications of the municipal spending plan to the city’s portion of the county budget and the Regional School Unit 13 budget, Rockland’s property tax rate will increase to $23.12 per $1,000 of assessed valuation, up from $22.28. This will translate into an additional $155 in property taxes for the average home valued at $185,000.
Mayor Valli Geiger said that in recent years, Rockland has tried to “manage with diminishing revenues as best it can.” Year to year she said the city looks at about a 3 percent increase in the budget, though she said that has largely been due to cuts in state aid to municipalities.
To meet the city’s needs, the local government is “Running out of tricks,” Geiger said. “We’re not faced with great choices.”
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