Multiple large projects are moving forward in Orono after its Town Council approved borrowing funds Monday.
Orono town councilors approved up to $9 million in funding for a new police station, sewer improvements and a library expansion. The projects are “a decade’s worth of work” for the town, Town Manager Clint Deschene said Monday.
Funding for the projects, which are part of the town’s multi-year improvement plan, has been discussed since last year. Two thirds of the money is being used for sewer improvements while the rest is split between a new police station and the library, with the library receiving more than $2.5 million.
The funding is split between sewer costs and town costs meaning how taxpayers will see it affect their costs will differ.
Two thirds of the borrowed money will be repaid by a three-year increase on sewer rates, with rates increasing 5% in 2027 and 2028 to cover the bond interest. The remaining $3 million will be paid off in yearly budgets like other debt services the town pays on.
Council Chair Dan Demeritt pointed out Monday that there is a sizable overlap between sewer rate payers and property tax payers, but Deschene said they aren’t all the same.
Although councilors and town staff didn’t speak about the projects Monday, it was previously said that upgrades to the sewer infrastructure were much needed because of aging pipes and systems. Demeritt previously called the library and police station “multi-generational projects” that would expand services for residents.
The Orono Public Library expansion has been in planning and fundraising since 2020. The library’s foundation has a $8.62 million fundraising goal, with the town’s funding going toward the project.
An new police station was brought forward by city staff because the current public safety facility is shared by the Orono Fire Department and Police Department. The departments need an additional 6,000 square feet of space, according to Deschene. To find the needed space, Orono purchased a former bank on Main Street in 2025. Construction is slated to start next month.
Although councilors approved bonding for up to $9 million, they also set a public hearing to bond or create a credit line for an additional $1 million to cover costs for the public safety building.
Councilors discussed bonding for more money in December, but decided to cut how much would be bonded and use the town’s fund balance to pay for part of the project.
Since then, the town has had an audit completed and finished the fiscal year. With newer figures, Deschene said the town may be dipping below the minimum threshold for its fund balance if $1 million of it is spent.
“As soon as we did those numbers, we realized it would put us under [the threshold], and I thought at that point, with this being the meeting tonight with multiple bonds being considered, and other things of financial implications to the town, I needed to put this in front of you,” Deschene said.
Bonding is not the only option to avoid the predicted shortfall. The town could take out a line of credit or a tax anticipation note, a loan that is repaid when residents pay their yearly taxes.
Multiple options will be brought forward during the council’s Aug. 10 meeting during a public hearing that was approved by six of the seven councilors. Councilor Jacob Baker opposed it, saying that asking to bond more could make residents question the council’s ability to financially manage the town.
“If I was a member of the public following this, I would be a little more apprehensive about our ability to financially manage this town. If all of a sudden, kind of at the last minute, we say, ‘Oh, we need to increase our bonding amount by a million dollars,’” Baker said.
Baker said he supports taking out a line of credit or tax anticipation note to pay for the project.
Correction: A previous version of this story misspelled Council Chair Dan Demeritt’s name and misstated the year library expansion fundraising began.