Penobscot County’s plan to recoup $1 million through next year’s budget was found to be illegal, dropping the county’s proposal for next year to $41.5 million.
After the million-dollar bump was added to Penobscot County’s budget proposal last week, a lawyer found that the plan went against state law, County Administrator Blair Tinkham said.
County officials will present the new proposal to its budget advisory committee on Wednesday, Nov. 4. The drop in the overall amount still puts the county on pace for a 24% hike next year from the current budget.
The plan was brought forward as part of a budget that fully funds the Penobscot County Jail, which has gone underfunded since 2021. Underbudgeting for jail expenses has bled more than $11 million from county reserve accounts, but officials have said there are few ways to recoup those funds quickly.
Penobscot County Commissioners David Marshall and Andre Cushing approved adding the money to the proposed budget last week to help refill the county’s depleted reserves. The addition was not needed to fund the Penobscot County Jail despite being added to one of the facility’s budget lines.
County Commissioner Dan Tremble voted against the proposed budget.
At the time, Tinkham said he was unsure if the additional funds would be legal, but thought they would be.
“Our read was, if we undertax, we should be able to recoup it in the following years,” Tinkham told the Bangor Daily News on Friday.
Since 2021, Penobscot County has not taxed municipalities as much as it could for jail operations. Taxing below the allowed amount, which is set by the state, lowered tax rates for residents but left the county with depleted reserves, Tinkham said.
Another portion of the proposed budget is still under legal review.
County officials have had to borrow from some of its own accounts, including opioid and COVID-relief funds, early in the year when there is not enough money on hand to operate. As part of next year’s budget, Penobscot County was going to pay back 20% of the $1.4 million officials took from the county’s unorganized territory department.
Not repaying the borrowed money would not affect any services or resources in the unorganized territory, Tinkham said, but it’s unclear if the funds have to be paid back in a single year or not.
Lawyers are still reviewing the proposal. If it is found to be illegal, nearly $1.1 million will be added to the budget.
If passed as proposed, next year’s budget would go up $6 million from 2026. That would mean an $85 jump in taxes for a home worth $245,000 in Bangor. Residents of other towns, including Brewer, Hampden and Hermon, would see a bump of more than $100 a year in county taxes.
Tinkham compared the spike in county taxes to the cost of a meal from McDonald’s being added to homeowners’ tax bills every month.
The budget advisory committee will meet next week to review the plan. Last year, the committee scrutinized the 2026 budget over two lengthy meetings and ultimately asked for $1 million to be cut.
County officials need the committee to approve a budget by Nov. 5 so commissioners can finalize it on Nov. 18. That will allow County Treasurer Glenn Mower to start the process of obtaining a loan for the beginning of 2027.
If the budget isn’t approved on this timeline, it may not give the county enough time to secure a loan. Without a loan, the county would not have the $3.5 million needed to fund services in January, meaning it would not be able to pay expenses or payroll.
That option is not “on the table,” Tinkham said.
Tremble, who was critical of the budget proposal, said he expects the committee to request cuts because of rising local taxes and the fear that residents won’t be able to afford the added burden.
“I think we’ve got a long way to go before we get to stuff that the budget committee is going to be comfortable with,” Tremble said.
Budget committee members said part of the reason last year’s meetings took so long was because information about expenses wasn’t shared until just days before it met. This year, county officials shared that information earlier and added more detail, Tinkham said.
That transparency, coupled with explanations that will be given at next week’s meeting, should allow the meeting to go smoothly, despite people’s disagreement with the rising budget, Tinkham said.
“We’re doing our due diligence,” Tinkham said. “People don’t like the number. I don’t like the number.”