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Nonprofits and downtown groups present FY27 funding requests; Age Friendly seeks $151,000, Main Street asks for $100,000 TIF
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Summary
Age Friendly Saco, Saco Main Street, Dyer Library & Saco Museum and BSOOB Transit gave budget presentations and requested municipal support for FY27: Age Friendly requested $151,000, Saco Main Street $100,000 (TIF), Dyer Library asked to reinstate COLAs and expand hours, and BSOOB Transit outlined a 12% municipal ask alongside a $2.8M EV charger project.
Several local nonprofit and quasi‑public organizations appeared before the Saco City Council on April 27 to present FY27 budgets and municipal funding requests.
Age Friendly Saco: Joe Morchett, a community connector for Age Friendly Saco, summarized program metrics and needs. He said the group provided 2,200 rides last year (1,400 medical, 800 shuttle), distributed 1,275 meals, completed 146 handyman jobs and reported 1,656 unique clients served and 7,800 volunteer hours. The organization requested $151,000 to sustain services and hire a 32‑hour operations coordinator; Morchett said part of the long‑term plan is to build a self‑sustaining hub that could leverage thrift‑store revenue for program stability.
Saco Main Street: Angie Presby, executive director, credited downtown programming and coordinated business support with recent gains in foot traffic and media attention. Presby asked the council to continue TIF funding at $100,000 and described grants and sponsorship leverage that, she said, multiply the city’s investment.
Dyer Library & Saco Museum: Sophie Smith said foot traffic has increased by roughly 52% since FY24 and highlighted Minerva Consortium participation (begun 07/29/2025) that boosted interlibrary loans. The library plans to expand Saturday hours and is seeking restoration of cost‑of‑living adjustments for staff to retain market‑rate wages.
BSOOB Transit: John Savage, executive director, reported regional system usage (roughly 285,000 passenger trips last year) and local pilot services (Quick Ride ~4,000 rides; Camp Ellis trolley ~1,500 rides). He outlined an overhead EV charger project totaling about $2.8 million (with $1.4 million this year) and $88,000 in planned bus‑stop improvements in Saco; Savage said grants cover much of that capital and that the agency’s municipal request is up about 12% for FY27, driven mostly by labor and fuel costs. He said federal and state grants supply about 57% of operations funding and stressed that local contributions typically attract additional government dollars.
Councilors asked questions about grant expirations, sponsorship projections and program sustainability. Presenters emphasized that most municipal requests would fund direct services and operations rather than salaries; where salary support was mentioned, presenters noted it explicitly. Several councilors expressed appreciation for volunteer contributions and urged presenters to provide follow‑up budget detail during the council’s budget workshop.
The council did not take final votes on the funding requests during the presentation; budget decisions will be part of the upcoming budget process.
