Budget committee forwards FY27 municipal and Sanford Public Schools budgets to City Council

The Sanford City Council budget committee met March 24 for a work session on the FY27 municipal and school budgets and voted to forward both budgets to the full City Council for formal action at the April 7 meeting.

City Manager Stephen Buck told the committee the municipal budget currently stands at about $42.6 million, a $3.5 million (9%) increase from last year, with capital reserves down to $4.2 million and revenue estimates up roughly $2.5 million. Buck said the tax calculation sheet being used for committee work includes an estimated $29 million of new assessed valuation that the assessing department has logged but warned assessments do not close until April 1.

Superintendent Matt Nelson presented the school department’s reduction proposals and revenue adjustments. Nelson said bargaining and plan changes produced roughly $100,000 in health insurance savings, dental rates produced about $2,649 in savings, and school capital reserve requests were reduced from about $514,000 to $119,000. He described additional expense reductions—co-op contributions, a half-time custodial restructuring, and holdbacks on a requested assistant athletic director position—totaling slightly more than $450,000 on the expense side and about $266,987 in increased revenues, yielding roughly $721,928 in combined amendments.

Nelson also reported using $38,691 from special-education reserves (bringing that reserve back to zero), a reallocation tied to Sanford’s share of the Sanford Regional Technical Center (SRTC) savings that must be returned to sending schools, and a planned $90,000 draw from unassigned fund balance. He said those moves reduce carryover from about 2.9% to approximately 2.7% and together change the net taxation figure by about $606,425.

Using the staff worksheet, Buck showed the combined municipal and school changes would translate to a mill-rate effect that, under the current assumptions, represents roughly $1.12 per $1,000 of assessed value. As an example, Buck said a $400,000 homestead-exempt home would see an annual increase of about $332.84 under the worksheet assumptions.

A member of the budget committee moved to forward the FY27 municipal and school budgets as presented; the motion was seconded by Pete and approved by voice vote. Staff said formal motion language and recorded vote tallies will be prepared for the April 7 City Council meeting.

In council comments after the vote, members praised staff and emphasized local priorities, including maintaining student services despite tight per-pupil spending, trail maintenance responsibilities, and community cleanup coordination. City Manager Buck and Superintendent Nelson urged continued advocacy at the state level for changes to the essential programs and services funding formula (Nelson referenced LD 2226 advancing from committee) and described tax increment financing (TIF) in South Sanford as a long-term strategy to support municipal and school sustainability.

Next steps: the budget committee’s recommendation will be presented to the full City Council on April 7, when staff will present the specific motions and the council will record formal votes.