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City manager highlights revenue drivers: excise taxes, revenue sharing and pending BETE impacts
Summary
Bangor staff told the council excise-tax estimates remain near $7 million, revenue sharing is increasing this cycle, and state reimbursement programs such as BETE and homestead reimbursements are producing complex effects as valuations and mill rates shift; the council asked about the impact of GE equipment and franchise-fee declines.
City Manager Deb Lohrey reviewed general-revenue assumptions at a Bangor City Council budget workshop, explaining that certain receipts are treated as general revenue rather than department-specific income.
Lohrey said excise-tax receipts remain relatively flat and cited an estimate of about $7 million in excise revenue. She said the city is seeing a substantial increase in revenue sharing this year but warned that municipal revaluations and changing tax rates can complicate the state reimbursement formulas for programs such as the homestead exemption and the Business Equipment Tax Exemption (BETE). The presentation noted that the state’s homestead reimbursement approaches are tied to mill rates, so a lower local mill rate can produce a smaller state reimbursement for exempted property.
Councilors asked about a reported GE equipment investment and whether it would trigger BETE reimbursement. Lohrey said GE’s announced capital investment had not arrived yet and would not affect BETE until it was in place on April 1; if it is in place by then, BETE revenue would be recognized for the same year.
Councilors also discussed franchise-fee revenue from cable providers, which is declining as customers migrate away from traditional cable. A councilor asked whether streaming services might be captured in future state or legislative action; staff said that is a policy discussion for another time.
Next steps: staff will return with further detail on revenue assumptions, including any updates from the assessor about final valuation numbers and timing of GE equipment becoming taxable if it is installed before the April 1 cutoff.
