FORT KENT, Maine – Fort Kent officials will present an estimated $6.9 million budget at the annual town meeting next week.
The budget is down nearly $220,000 from the previous year’s total of $7.11 million.
The final figure could change because school district and Aroostook County budgets have not yet been set. If it stays as is, the town could see a reduced mill rate, which could bring lower property tax bills to residents.
Based on predictions for the Aroostook and school budgets, the mill rate would decrease by about three-quarters of a point, from 23.85 per $1,000 worth of property to 23.12, Town Manager Suzie Paradis said.
That is only an estimate and the town won’t know the true mill rate until it is set later this year, she said.
She attributed the lower 2026 budget to higher revenue, which is anticipated to rise from $2.9 million last year to $3.2 million this year due to 2025 revenue sharing and excise taxes, along with additional funds from recreation, public works, police and administration.
Officials estimate that the school budget will remain the same, and that the town’s portion of the county tax will increase by $135,567, Paradis said.
MSAD 27, a school district that includes Fort Kent and surrounding towns, presented three different budgets last year after voters rejected the first two versions. In order to distribute tax bills to residents in time last year, the town had to set its mill rate after the second school budget, but before the third iteration, which was roughly $86,905 lower.
That resulted in a surplus, which can only be applied toward the school budget and can’t be used for any other purposes, Paradis said.
Because of the school budget delays, the town set its 2025 mill rate in late August, about a month later than usual.
The town meeting will take place at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 17, at the Fort Kent Community High School.
The municipal election, in which candidates John Bouchard and Franklin “Leroy” McKenzie are vying for one three-year term on the town council, will take place from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. the same day at the Fort Kent Municipal Building.