Lebanon
Mulholland presented a $77.4 million proposed 2019 budget to the City Council on Thursday night. The plan amounts to a $9.7 million, or 14 percent, increase over the current $67.7 million budget.
Much of the additional spending would cover capital improvement projects, including anticipated sewer and road upgrades.
Under the proposed spending plan, the tax rate would increase 2.5 percent to $11.24 per $1,000 of a property’s assessed value. That amounts to a tax bill of $2,810 for a home valued at $250,000, not including school and county taxes.
“I’m going to be very mindful of the CIP,” Mayor Sue Prentiss said of the budget proposal on Friday. “That will be a big discussion. It always is.”
The proposal includes an $8.7 million increase in the city’s capital improvement spending, bringing that portion of the budget to $29.2 million — roughly a 43 percent increase.
Projects include $3.7 million in improvements at the city’s water treatment facility, $4.3 million for improvements on Mechanic and Mascoma streets, and $2 million for airport runway safety upgrades.
The budget also recommends an additional $3.8 million for the combined sewer overflow, or CSO, projects, a $75 million effort to separate sewer and stormwater in roughly 15 miles of Lebanon’s sewer system.
City Councilor Karen Liot Hill also predicted lively discussions on the capital improvements budget, especially regarding plans to renovate City Hall.
The proposed budget would set aside nearly $4 million to improve access to the building, increase energy efficiency and upgrade workspaces. But the City Council has seen similar efforts proposed in past budgets, and so far declined to approve the spending, Liot Hill said.
A $2.5 million project to repair the sewer line between downtown and West Lebanon will likely draw scrutiny, she said.
The city’s east end is currently under a building moratorium because of deficient capacity in the interceptor line that allows waste to flow between downtown and the treatment facility on the other side of town.
“While we have a lot of energy and momentum behind the revival of downtown Lebanon coming off of the Downtown Visioning Study, the sewer interceptor became an immoderate roadblock that really hindered being able to move forward,” Liot Hill said.
Although there are some difficult choices facing officials, Liot Hill said, there are also initiatives she’s excited about.
Mulholland is proposing making city government 95 percent paperless. The city’s administration is also leading efforts to digitize records and allow citizens to more frequently interact with city government online.
Liot Hill also praised negotiations that could result in Lebanon’s employees shifting to a high-deductible health insurance plan, which could save about $300,000 annually.
The budget includes several staffing changes, including the funding of a full-time cemetery sextant, a part-time airport maintenance worker and additional hours for human services and fire department assistants. Two firefighters and police officers hired using federal grants will also remain on the city’s books.
Officials are planning a 2.6 percent wage increase for Lebanon’s non-affiliated employees, while those represented by a union can expect contract negotiations to end next month, according to the budget proposal. It’s not yet known how those discussions will affect the budget.
The budget proposal assumes an 8 percent increase in water rates and a 7.2 percent increase for the city’s sewer users to pay for operational costs. However, the City Council will vote on those fees next year, after a public hearing independent of the budget process.
Over the next month, councilors are expected to review and make whatever changes they believe necessary. A final vote is scheduled for Dec. 19. People can find a copy of the proposal at Lebanonnh.gov.
Tim Camerato can be reached at tcamerato@vnews.com or 603-727-3223.