[{"_1":2,"_123":-5,"_124":-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",[32,75,87,99,111],{"_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":72,"_73":56,"_74":56},"mediaId",6115340,"mediaKeyId","2739311-f766c14b954a960537be33da738972b5","parentId",2739311,"title","Residents urge completion of audit before budget vote; councilors debate stipends and personal property enforcement","audioSeconds",1242,"startMs",3658000,"endMs",4900000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2739311-f766c14b954a960537be33da738972b5&start=3658&end=4900","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2739311-f766c14b954a960537be33da738972b5/thumbnail_3658000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6115340/Maine/Residents-urge-completion-of-audit-before-budget-vote-councilors-debate-stipends-and-personal-property-enforcement","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6115340-351a9ae9a7734f30302d4b34b887abff/orig.mp4?Expires=1775095575&Signature=Jv3q38KZaUs1~e4T1n7MjxXeV5BxkQhXprI3noaNyJYcPwNhrd-is4iGkZVcbC84-~mqolIOwisgPevbGCJCJOKDkn6RCp7b3pt090jvJaR-gjcUHL7zCOsadw1gfrWz-e6GfMz4XEF6qO~LgYsu~skun85c~mVWIpQLImIChPQwAVntwr6rzXffxcEBusWDO05vM8uYHheZYxB~nbpR7S-REKeoj7w9oioewPF2hsaBUc~GlXbWCxdIoVRVIHuMuXkvld4iQF3EonNuogUGZmxrgML-OTwT1vH2CbyB6Nv4dmuSx~EBoLTwvNhCJB6aKzSu-Irbwr8Aat11WUTTLA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","","date","2025-03-22T20:28:17.87Z","article","Several residents used the public comment period to raise fiscal transparency and administrative issues. The most repeated request was that the city complete the FY2024 audit before finalizing the FY2026 budget.

Brandon Williams, who identified himself by street address, told the Finance Committee he “feels very strongly” the FY2024 audit should be complete before enactment of the FY2026 budget. Finance staff replied auditors had received materials in December but encountered new migration‑related items when they arrived this week and that staff were working with the vendor and auditors to close out the list. Staff did not provide a firm date for audit completion and acknowledged the audit timeline creates risk that the budget may be passed before the FY2024 audit is final.

Other public comments and council discussion included:

- Council stipends: A resident asked the council to budget for the automatic annual stipend increases described by the charter (an annual $50/$40 increase referenced in the charter provision starting 01/01/2012). Council members discussed whether an increased budget line should be included so the incoming council could choose to accept or decline the stipend; one councilor said he donates his stipend to the library and another said acceptance of the check is not mandatory.

- Personal property tax enforcement: A resident asked whether annual business license renewals and on‑site checks by code enforcement could improve accuracy and collection of personal property tax declarations. Staff said they would discuss the idea with the tax collector and code enforcement but warned about the workload such inspections would create.

- Paving bid transparency: A councilor asked staff to provide public records and bid materials for a previous paving bid that had reported problems; staff agreed to provide the bidding documents via email before the upcoming Monday council vote.

Ending: Staff reiterated they will continue to work with auditors and the vendor (Cassell) to complete the audit and will provide requested bid materials; residents and councilors urged timely completion of audits and clearer access to procurement records before major budget votes.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Finance Committee Meeting - March 14th, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","During public comment, residents pressed the Finance Committee to complete the FY2024 audit prior to adopting the FY2026 budget; other public speakers and councilors discussed updating councilor stipends, improving personal‑property tax enforcement for businesses, and public records for a paving bid.","taxTitle","Finance Committee, Ellsworth, Hancock, Maine","taxId",70091,"location","Maine","headline","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":56,"_74":56},6115345,"School superintendent outlines FY26 needs: pre‑K expansion, restructured school leadership and facilities plan",1166,2249000,3415000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2739311-f766c14b954a960537be33da738972b5&start=2249&end=3415","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2739311-f766c14b954a960537be33da738972b5/thumbnail_2249000.jpg","/articles/6115345/Maine/School-superintendent-outlines-FY26-needs-preK-expansion-restructured-school-leadership-and-facilities-plan","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6115345-04e805ff80ce4196943ef8c0f1b8973f/orig.mp4?Expires=1775095575&Signature=dB9Ad5sxI9m~em8d0G4NwDkHPhqDFRUzyi1E76Tw1QCFjV3n4wfsNiuiQ9ftQrmZ1qqoM~XaecuYQzZSeWJbaFbilVWvtKK8km6Bz0iM5PtWgdoeVDk~dJIV9IQ2aZJyc~u6slRsUtXSGtlybcEBeXNyukvOffKMz2~EiEVpcUBGd4Gkr8rH~jLUukYofp8P17XBS7HOT~EWL1Du2ormu4C80cX3EYcYe4kmf6345vtEMm9MtIUx3h-BUcaZI9~YWC0QL7iseaBcfGWFIvVVhvyT24JqAMmBhu0IioVmQ7ncDyIH0I6Ku-ESjPGNgkpgWdmEUFgz3dPw3-xUuN0sFg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The School Department presented its FY26 budget priorities to the Finance Committee, focusing on leadership restructuring at the PreK–8 school, expanding pre‑K access, and using a TELP approach for facilities projects.

The superintendent said a single principal model has not effectively met the needs of a large PreK–8 school that serves roughly 730–780 students across a wide age range. She proposed creating three “pods” (PreK–2, Grades 3–5, Grades 6–8) under one principal with an assistant principal assigned to each pod to specialize in the age range, behavior supports and special‑education coordination. “Putting 700 and plus kids, 730 to 780 kids, ranging in ages from pre k to 8 under 1 roof is highly complicated,” she said.

The presentation also requested funding to expand pre‑K by two classrooms (to four total) using off‑site space under district curriculum oversight because the district lacks space in the main building. The superintendent said demand is strong and the current two classrooms are full with a wait list.

Other FY26 priorities included curriculum updates (noting textbooks in some subjects have not been updated in seven to eight years), technology upgrades, gifted and talented staffing expansion, a remote learning program for students unable to attend in person, transportation and bus garage planning, and workforce recruitment and retention. The superintendent said federal grant funding for FY26 appears stable and that Hancock County superintendents met with the state education commissioner and felt “confident FY26 is not going to be affected with the burden of federal money being stripped away.”

Why it matters: leadership and pre‑K changes aim to address communication and behavior challenges in the large PreK–8 building and to expand access to early education. The superintendent asked committee members for feedback before the March 25 presentation to the council and the school board’s April 8 budget vote.

Ending: The superintendent said she will return with facilities data and TELP results at the next meeting and encouraged councilors to send questions so the school board’s April 8 vote reflects committee input.","The school superintendent presented priorities for FY26 including pod‑based leadership at the PreK–8 school, expanding pre‑K capacity with off‑site classrooms, curriculum updates, and continuing the TELP facilities approach; she said federal funding for FY26 appears stable.",{"_33":88,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":89,"_41":90,"_43":91,"_45":92,"_47":93,"_49":94,"_51":95,"_53":96,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":97,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":98,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":56,"_74":56},6115350,"Finance Committee raises concerns about solid waste contract, sticker fees and transfer‑station scale revenue",383,1265000,1648000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2739311-f766c14b954a960537be33da738972b5&start=1265&end=1648","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2739311-f766c14b954a960537be33da738972b5/thumbnail_1265000.jpg","/articles/6115350/Maine/Finance-Committee-raises-concerns-about-solid-waste-contract-sticker-fees-and-transferstation-scale-revenue","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6115350-a630acf55aa5853cd6d793069f4e8dd5/orig.mp4?Expires=1775095575&Signature=MTJZdQVRoM9kt87W4znY7WoMBgvwy1qiubLuqI51DvOloKgv93TsFKZ-oiAJqC3O2GcuaMIRg6OeaW2RblILQXH6BIdO5f3cXS4JXp4WVxN1ep~DBZBypGKsgGTTr6f3lHUVsB5SHjIsVkcEyB5qgGV8rK99H8CZovi15Uc7K1k9fuP~mRtxwDkMFEpFojvdGBE6J1qr5mD0-5Dn9ahgDz69KXBBMhrnlRy4D9GMpI5Cv~g93~EmjbBHOiCVJpoqDrlOqXYVJpirvAYux8BAbqBz-9Zdtb7EpDkcrnBbLdCB8VPBzHA4WFi3jqWpFhbpu34OEZ2p3H-AnDTKOp4bKA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Finance Committee focused on solid waste after packet numbers showed nearly 90% collection for municipal solid waste but only about 14% for waste disposal invoicing, prompting questions about coding and uncollected invoices.

Staff said the city is carrying a negative balance in the solid waste account and that Cassell‑related invoicing and coding changes contributed to the appearance of revenue shortfalls. Committee members and staff debated several options to address the shortfall: raising resident sticker fees, eliminating “small‑scale” scaling accounts where residents pay pennies for truckloads, increasing a minimum charge for scale users (one suggestion was a $40 minimum), or moving curbside collection in‑house by buying a truck and using Public Works staff.

“There’s a few changes that I wanna make there. I wanna increase the trash resident stickers, to kind of more truly match costs. I kind of consider it more of an enterprise account,” a staff member told the committee. Staff also said the city has only a few bidders for disposal services; if Cassell remains the sole viable bidder when the contract expires, the city needs an alternative plan to avoid being forced to accept large fee increases.

Why it matters: the committee was told sticker and scale revenue leakage could amount to “multiple hundreds of thousands of dollars,” which shifts costs to taxpayers who do not use the transfer station. Committee members pressed for a better process to collect small payments and suggested process improvements, an online payments or credit card system, and clearer thresholds when an account should be classified as commercial versus residential.

Ending: staff asked for more time to present options; they said they will return to the committee with cost comparisons for in‑house curbside collection, suggested sticker/scale fee schedules, and scenarios showing revenue gains from proposed changes.","Committee members and staff discussed steep recent contract increases for solid waste collection, low sticker and scale revenue, and options including raising sticker fees, revising scale policy, or bringing collection in‑house to reduce costs.",{"_33":100,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":101,"_41":102,"_43":103,"_45":104,"_47":105,"_49":106,"_51":107,"_53":108,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":109,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":110,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":56,"_74":56},6115355,"Council budget discussion highlights fire department overtime and staffing requests",101,693000,794000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2739311-f766c14b954a960537be33da738972b5&start=693&end=794","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2739311-f766c14b954a960537be33da738972b5/thumbnail_693000.jpg","/articles/6115355/Maine/Council-budget-discussion-highlights-fire-department-overtime-and-staffing-requests","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6115355-f16a1cce0d1367005f9563bb5e74b5a7/orig.mp4?Expires=1775095575&Signature=is3e3KqlQg0uO4hlqaSi1eX6fbXblZAH3TM08-cZMLoUOrbDr0~hjpQC0hNzSEUnnoXssttxW2XU2AhAOA9bfrgfDGUcstPrdhfBcWFJrH5T23A6TnqJU-gZM40AfaKEveYvm~5o7BCCi9QufHbIKz8YxBDHsUht~SXcZJfVXNDKEzfN1Ov5IVzkKqdBgovSfulYcgPES7T0dRlT4~B7EUp8IbwPR-eBkSgTTI4h9qz4VL4Lri2zu3rHI5~9j6TJGut7Lw459Hq42D3LmDKJ3GFMKpv2uUjBsfsdvlp5ZIOXQ58f-d5cLAyOLXm4k2PCbIxFKdS2yzonXZBKUmjvCA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Finance Committee members flagged higher overtime in the fire department budget during a March budget workshop, asking whether the increases reflect real spending or accounting timing tied to payroll system changes.

Finance staff told the committee some fire overtime reflects illnesses and injuries and additional ambulance workload. They also said payroll tracking for the fire department differs from the police department and earlier paper timesheets are contributing to apparent variances while the city completes migration to Cassell. “Some of the overtime lines are a lot higher, but their payroll full time might be a little bit lower because of that,” a finance staff member said.

The committee discussed previous temporary SAFER grant funding for three positions that may have partially masked staffing needs as grants phased down. Members asked whether the city should budget for one or more full‑time firefighters per year; staff said they recommend budgeting for whole positions rather than fractional “0.5” roles. One request discussed was for an additional 1.5 firefighters in prior cycles; staff said they were proposing a single full‑time hire rather than fractional positions and noted a prior request figure of about $264,000 for additional staffing that needed further review.

Why it matters: committee members emphasized that the fire department budget is one of the largest departmental line items and recommended bringing it earlier in the workshop schedule so members can consider staffing, overtime drivers and cost‑saving tradeoffs while participants are “fresh.” Finance staff said they will follow up with department leaders and present a more detailed package on overtime drivers, grant timelines and staffing options at a future workshop.

Ending: Finance staff and the new deputy chief will continue to review payroll and overtime causes and return with more detailed options, including whether part‑time hires, full‑time hires or other operational changes would reduce overtime costs.","Finance Committee members pressed for details on high fire department overtime, previous grant support and a multi‑year staffing approach; staff said some overtime is tied to injuries and payroll tracking differences from a migration to the Cassell system.",{"_33":112,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":113,"_41":114,"_43":115,"_45":116,"_47":117,"_49":118,"_51":119,"_53":120,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":121,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":122,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":72,"_73":56,"_74":56},6115360,"City finance staff say audit delays tied to midyear software switch, but budget work continues",3818,164000,3982000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2739311-f766c14b954a960537be33da738972b5&start=164&end=3982","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2739311-f766c14b954a960537be33da738972b5/thumbnail_164000.jpg","/articles/6115360/Maine/City-finance-staff-say-audit-delays-tied-to-midyear-software-switch-but-budget-work-continues","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6115360-f7b5dae5fa7aa9f5dbba7ff079d91aec/orig.mp4?Expires=1775095575&Signature=oml1QXWDA-49uc2TKivcJu6LnhgJrWXLNeeNKxo51oCANV2Qhw2RQ3ZPXtUYu7e0Cn1qVdKyy0Q6qThUfneHRit4o61u-7QUkQxfbmf70QoVbWnFDojlqiK-0e6IH8UvOS3vWYc~pUd8v8ox2nA4z5NRgAgkjbJcA8pTQac7h1NkF-rMhaXJ8pDXiDtngUz6CvximUe6I1Rh4KV-7AA-oWTOb8vBLxnBjbjOyiY4llmkyw5EslyFjKLTIAdQTMJ0cfjeYC~HloT0HRjAfaRnHsNhXhItnlaKQg~LuAIyj61N1wSoBgdfaFb5pZat2ValCenxvuDmPQuSkBfGSk8Nuw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","City finance staff told the Finance Committee on a March meeting that auditors are still working through issues related to a midyear migration to a new accounting system, but staff emphasized they are continuing budget preparations for fiscal 2026.

Finance staff said auditors from RHR arrived at City Hall this week and reported “slight issues” tied to the Cassell migration. “It kind of wasn't ideal that we switched, from Eunice to Cassell, especially mid fiscal year, which has caused some issues,” a finance staff member said. Staff said they would contact Cassell to help the auditors get the data they need so the audit can be completed “ASAP.”

Why it matters: audited financial statements and reconciliations are used to confirm cash balances, outstanding obligations and to reconcile accrual versus cash accounting. Committee members and at least one resident said the city should complete the FY2024 audit before finalizing the FY2026 budget; staff said they are attempting to finish the audit but did not commit to a precise completion date.

Details from the meeting: finance staff reported the city’s bank account balance was “just over $9,000,000,” compared with a four‑year average near $7.72 million. Staff cautioned that full financial position depends on reconciliations and the audit. The committee discussed cash timing: taxation revenue is recorded on an accrual basis when billed, which is why the “July to February” column in the packet matched the budget number. Finance staff noted debt service payments are due April 1 and estimated the near‑term debt service obligation at “probably a million, 2 million or something like that.”

Committee members asked whether the FY2026 budget could be adopted without completed audited financials. Finance staff said they are pushing the auditor and vendor but did not guarantee the audit would be finished before the council’s budget vote.

The meeting also included requests for clearer packet formatting — page numbers and department totals — and a reminder that earlier receipt of audit questions would have allowed staff to prepare more fully. A resident told the committee he expects the audit to be complete before the council finalizes the budget; staff replied they “caught up on three years” of audits previously and are trying to close the remaining items quickly.

Ending: Staff said the immediate priorities are finishing reconciliations for the audit with Cassell’s help and continuing the FY2026 budget workshops; staff will return to the Finance Committee and the school and council schedules in the coming weeks.","City finance staff told the Finance Committee auditors encountered issues migrating records after a midyear switch to a new accounting system; staff said they are working with the vendor to finish the FY2024 audit while progressing FY2026 budget work.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Residents urge completion of audit before budget vote; councilors debate stipends and personal property enforcement

School superintendent outlines FY26 needs: pre‑K expansion, restructured school leadership and facilities plan

Finance Committee raises concerns about solid waste contract, sticker fees and transfer‑station scale revenue

Council budget discussion highlights fire department overtime and staffing requests

City finance staff say audit delays tied to midyear software switch, but budget work continues