[{"_1":2,"_86":-5,"_87":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,74],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":56,"_73":56},"mediaId",6280530,"mediaKeyId","2615059-4536d4c78e8f03472b7a908907927243","parentId",2615059,"title","Manager presents tight FY26 draft budget; council weighs cuts, TIF and undesignated funds to limit tax increase","audioSeconds",6270,"startMs",90000,"endMs",6360000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2615059-4536d4c78e8f03472b7a908907927243&start=90&end=6360","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2615059-4536d4c78e8f03472b7a908907927243/thumbnail_90000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6280530/South-Berwick/York-County/Maine/Manager-presents-tight-FY26-draft-budget-council-weighs-cuts-TIF-and-undesignated-funds-to-limit-tax-increase","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6280530-d950a6e3a2ecbca61321d018425235a5/orig.mp4?Expires=1771189321&Signature=T9t0PWGbLmas6C7gWNSxmwXuu2a1MuxbcUlABTp-xIXQgtggaeN8PfIeK~Jg1gLaNJt14wvDDoahA7Tw5YrNhySw1vp15gyUGWkTFoZzk9QaN-ifcN-QBWxO16X6ktsS51TEoe46bLB4qaOqk69-E0ysBxKiWoZw9hzQmVTDeh6dm5uLqneETJIwW9vwcqEl8obtYSv6bCd4p5LW9rDETKYzeots4ttFLkb40HQAgZhfknV0iCE09nvWBp~sI4CX6r7AzxP4BzlEg~dAr6fhtnTch5ENKoCW1OcCLRtJC2V3VDNfEK0AcaooL3tXc5lCm8PtLloD-P56WTftbTM-5A__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","","date","2025-03-12T18:10:18Z","article","South Berwick officials presented a conservative FY26 draft budget at the March 4 town council workshop, flagging limited revenue upside, several departmental wage increases and one‑time reductions in capital improvement funds to reduce immediate tax impacts.

The Town Manager said staff worked through 19 drafts and met repeatedly with department heads to constrain spending. \"This is a very tight budget this year,\" the manager said, noting staff built almost no contingency into recurring accounts and made one‑time reductions that could not be sustained beyond a single year.

On revenue, finance staff raised vehicle excise tax revenue by an estimated $55,000 and projected a total net revenue increase of about $140,295. The manager and Danica (finance staff) warned the town had not yet received county and school budgets and that state revenue sharing remained uncertain because of pending legislative proposals. Officials proposed drawing $900,000 from undesignated funds in one scenario to reduce the tax increase; they also outlined an alternate scenario that used $1,000,000 from undesignated funds.

Key budget changes described by staff included: a town‑wide cost‑of‑living adjustment of about 3% (3.5% for police under the union contract); a merit program for non‑union employees; identified wage adjustments in the clerk's office and finance; and department‑specific increases including a roughly 18% rise in the fire department wages tied to added EMS coordination and wage adjustments for firefighters. The police budget showed a 10.3% increase largely driven by salaries, new training and a new line for ammunition and range costs ($7,500) that had previously been embedded elsewhere.

Staff also detailed several contracted and external cost increases that the town could not control: York Ambulance contract adjustments, a 25% April 1 water rate increase applied to hydrant costs, an estimated 1% employer cost for the Paid Family Medical Leave Act (about $42,200), an IT consultant contract increase and routine benefit cost increases that raised payroll taxes and retirement contributions.

On capital (CIP), the manager proposed roughly $167,175 of one‑time cuts across CIP accounts to free funds for staffing requests; those reductions were repeatedly described as \"one‑year\" measures that staff would recommend restoring later. Staff highlighted that certain debt service items could be paid in part from TIF dollars (for example, a portion of the town hall renovation payment), and that fiscal 26 would include an interest‑only payment on the new town hall with about $122,500 remaining as the general fund share after the 50% TIF offset.

Staff presented two headline tax scenarios for council consideration: using $900,000 of undesignated funds would yield an expenditure‑budget increase of about 3.71% (3.71% before the town‑hall payment) and a total budget impact that included the town‑hall bond payment of about 4.92%. Using $1,000,000 from undesignated funds would lower the net expenditure increase to about 2.71% (3.93% after factoring the town hall bond payment). Councilors asked for supplemental scenario runs showing the effects of restoring specific CIP lines and of itemizing wage adjustments beyond the uniform COLA.

Ending

Councilors did not adopt a budget at the workshop. Staff said they will prepare additional scenario detail, provide clearer line‑item breakdowns for large wage and program changes, and return at follow‑up meetings before the town's formal FY26 budget adoption process.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","1st Budget Workshop FY26","oneSentenceSummary","Town staff presented draft FY26 revenues and spending, highlighted conservative revenue projections, multiple department wage increases and one‑time capital cuts; staff outlined two tax‑impact scenarios that depend on how much undesignated fund balance is used and noted the town hall bond payment is partially offset by TIF.","taxTitle","South Berwick, York County, Maine","taxId",73931,"location","headline","shortSummary",{"_33":75,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":76,"_41":77,"_43":78,"_45":79,"_47":80,"_49":81,"_51":82,"_53":83,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":84,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":85,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":56,"_73":56},6280535,"South Berwick staff propose town-run EMS under fire department; budget would rise if approved",4241,6358000,10599000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2615059-4536d4c78e8f03472b7a908907927243&start=6358&end=10599","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2615059-4536d4c78e8f03472b7a908907927243/thumbnail_6358000.jpg","/articles/6280535/South-Berwick/York-County/Maine/South-Berwick-staff-propose-town-run-EMS-under-fire-department-budget-would-rise-if-approved","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6280535-76870799d511ad9eb6fcb46e9d9d7bf3/orig.mp4?Expires=1771189321&Signature=PJHyYbJ48IGeeJA9tSlhKN83NLHhOpj2CsrLAg59edFLv6avvjmGca6eaEhHArhX9GMVYhQL6ZkHLNwCJqf-FzzVK~AcUacUdowSRVTVZAE6RizugkpWuKNEu5vWWLEqReIEN~tucXiUN3Xwf-Ug8j-CpUtbJrM4ulN7HnvQv~2q9uNC0wG~dfcMLFnJ~FY6U7bwSiAnqha0PkK2A70FQ~QtyjITrU4gsP898~8~zfYXaIGY-E1LPIb-QvmrdHEQtYNXEL~GHAgXP-fYu~~-Ny3rxNVTY-l0Bf-i02nzAIAE6zcj3koLPK2gTcn6~loFCOBC7BpoDTASbB8b4IV~GA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","South Berwick town leaders outlined a plan on March 4 to bring ambulance service under the town's fire department, saying municipal EMS would address gaps in private ambulance coverage and improve response reliability.

Town Manager told the council that private ambulance providers have shown growing staffing and financial instability and that the town had experienced occasions when the contracted ambulance was unavailable. \"I will not look at anybody in this audience as a town member and say, I'm good with a provider not providing,\" the manager said during the budget workshop.

Chief Hamill, the fire chief, presented operational details and a timeline. He proposed purchasing two ambulances (one new, one used), hiring eight full‑time firefighter/EMTs and paramedics (four paramedic/firefighter positions and four EMT/firefighter positions) and modifying the fire station to house unified fire/EMS operations. The chief said the town would apply for the municipal EMS license required by Maine EMS and that cross‑training firefighters as EMTs already underway would support staffing.

The town manager and the chief presented cost estimates and funding options. They estimated the first full year of operating a municipal EMS would raise the fire/rescue budget from roughly $950,000 (current fire budget baseline reported at the meeting) to about $1.26 million; adding start‑up and equipment costs raised the total one‑time and operating impact into the $1.6 million neighborhood when including a contingency and equipment purchases. The manager said the net increase in taxpayer cost for the first year of stand‑up would be roughly $658,880, which he tied to a 6.53% increase in the municipal budget under one scenario. When the town's required separate town‑hall bond payment is included, the manager said the comparable overall increase range could rise to about 7.75 percent under the larger scenario; using a larger undesignated‑fund draw (other funding assumptions) would produce a lower set of percentage changes (examples the manager gave: 5.54% and 6.76%).

The presenters noted possible offsets. The town would bill transports (outsourcing billing to a third‑party vendor was planned) and the chief projected some ambulance billing revenue, though the presentation used conservative assumptions that counted only transports of South Berwick residents. The manager also pointed to pending state proposals that would tax non‑municipal ambulance providers; he told the council that if such a state assessment passed, private providers would likely pass the cost to patients while a municipal provider could capture that revenue locally.

Councilors asked about start‑up timing, recruitment and alternatives. The chief said a realistic launch date would target July 1, 2026, with hiring beginning early in 2026 and recruitment emphasizing in‑house firefighters who are already pursuing EMT certification. He said paramedics would be more difficult to recruit but that municipal benefits and a stable schedule would be a draw. Councilors also asked whether neighboring towns could contract for service; the chief said other communities had inquired and that outside contracts would be considered case‑by‑case.

Council discussion focused on tradeoffs: improved reliability and local control versus the higher taxes and start‑up cost. Several councilors and the manager said they were open to continuing to the next step (a meeting with the town's contracted ambulance service), not to vote tonight but to authorize further study and discussion. The manager said he planned a Thursday meeting with the contractor and requested direction from the council whether municipal EMS should remain a working option.

The presentation materials and the manager's budget scenarios remain preliminary; councilors requested supplemental scenario runs showing the budget impact if earlier capital‑improvement cuts were restored or if different amounts of undesignated funds were used to smooth taxpayer impacts.

Ending

Councilors did not take a formal vote at the workshop. Several members said they supported continuing to study the proposal; others urged caution because of timing and tax impacts. The manager and fire chief said they would return with more detail, including recruitment plans, a finalized start‑up budget and options for presenting the proposal to residents if the council chooses to move forward.","Town officials presented a plan to create a fire-based emergency medical services (EMS) operation — buying ambulances, hiring full‑time paramedic/firefighters and modifying facilities — and said standing up the service would increase the town's FY26 budget by roughly 6.5 percentage points (to about 6.5% or higher depending on funding choices).","actionData","errors"]

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Manager presents tight FY26 draft budget; council weighs cuts, TIF and undesignated funds to limit tax increase

South Berwick staff propose town-run EMS under fire department; budget would rise if approved