Manager proposes using fund balance, vacancy assumptions to soften Bangor's mill rate

City Manager Lear told council he will present a revised tax-rate calculator and a package of proactive adjustments to the proposed budget at the next meeting: use approximately $2.88 million in unassigned fund balance to offset the mill rate, adopt a conservative vacancy assumption for salaries, and budget newly authorized but vacant positions at 75% of full-year cost.

Lear said these changes aim to avoid overcollecting for salaries and to provide flexibility if the revaluation's final assessed values arrive late. "One of the major adjustments is to use approximately 2.88 million in unassigned fund balance to offset the tax rate," Lear said, and recommended setting vacancy and phasing assumptions so the city does not collect full-year taxes for positions that will likely be filled later in the fiscal year.

Staff also noted recent positive adjustments to the school budget (health insurance savings and other revenue updates) that will reduce the school's local-share pressure and feed into the city's tax-rate calculation. Manager's modeling indicated the proposed package could lower the mill rate below last year's level, though final outcomes depend on the revaluation and council guidance about positions such as additional fire-department hires or the community-connector expansion.

Next steps: staff will include the updated tax-rate calculator and a prioritized list of new positions in Wednesday's packet; councilors requested an advance copy of the updated materials so they can review before the meeting.