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Ellsworth budget workshop frames a 'boom and gloom' year as valuation spikes and costs bite
Summary
City Manager framed Ellsworth's FY27 budget as 'boom and gloom,' citing roughly $700 million in valuation growth since 2021 and steep public‑safety and benefits cost increases that forced deep cuts to discretionary programs and a proposed 10% trim to external nonprofit funding.
City Manager Charlie said the city is living two stories at once: rapid taxable-value growth on the one hand and sharp cost pressures on the other. "I call this memo boom and gloom. Boom," he told councilors at the final budget workshop, noting about $700 million in new valuation since 2021 and a mill rate that has fallen to roughly 15.66 on recent slides.
The city reported that, despite the valuation gains, distribution effects were uneven: staff reviewed roughly 5,500 tax bills and found about 75% experienced a net decrease last year while a small slice of property owners took on outsized increases because assessment changes were concentrated in certain waterfront and commercial parcels. Charlie warned those concentrated increases complicate revenue forecasting and state revenue‑sharing formulas.
Staff laid out the main cost drivers pushing the proposed FY27 increase: public‑safety budgets (police and fire), employee benefits (health insurance up about 17 percent), and inflation‑sensitive items such as fuel and road‑maintenance materials. The workshop noted recent assessment corrections and a state 'clawback' that trimmed expected revenues (staff estimated overall revenue expectations down about 5.9 percent compared with prior forecasts).
To reduce the proposed increase, staff described a final ‘‘cut’’ exercise that eliminated most discretionary spending: nonessential training was moved to near zero, upgrades to council‑chamber AV and some IT positions were deferred, and a 10 percent reduction to outside organization requests was proposed (staff estimated an $80,000–$90,000 aggregate reduction). The city also flagged roughly $20 million in year‑one deferred capital needs across infrastructure if full catch‑up were attempted.
Charlie and staff urged a cautious approach to the largest cost centers, saying routine cuts to small departments cannot absorb growth in public safety and school costs. Town officials said they would publish final figures and send earlier valuation notices to taxpayers this year so property owners have advance notice before bills are mailed. The council will consider the budget at the June meetings, with staff noting some numbers will still hinge on assessor valuations and the final school vote.
