Council, city manager and members debate fiscal-year alignment and mill-rate timing after school cuts

Caribou councilors and staff on June 30 discussed the school district's budget changes, how that interacts with the city's fiscal calendar, and a recurring proposal to align the city fiscal year with the school and state.

City Manager Penny reported the school reduced expenses by $35,059 and increased revenue by $25,000. Penny explained the timing issue: "the school runs on a July 1 to June 30 year. And so the city runs on January 1 to December 31... when we get their bill, it's half in this year and half in last year," she said, describing how the city's mill-rate calculation incorporates half of last year's school bill and half of the current year's bill.

Deputy Mayor Smith and other councilors discussed pursuing a charter change to align the city's fiscal year with the school and state fiscal calendars. Smith said he would continue to press the matter to the charter committee and suggested placing a referendum on the November ballot if appropriate; other councilors cautioned about the mill-rate impact on taxpayers and urged analysis before advancing a change. "I think we need to think about doing that when it's maybe a little bit more feasible for taxpayers," one councilor said, citing previous county changes that had affected local mill rates.

Councilors asked staff for numbers and analysis on the financial impact of a fiscal-year shift; the charter committee was directed to discuss options and return with recommendations. No formal change to the charter was proposed or adopted at the meeting.