By Renee Worthing 

Register Reporter 

   Sanford’s proposed 2008/2009 municipal operating budget is 3.4 percent higher than the 2007/2008 fiscal year budget, Sanford Town Manager Mark Green said during a Feb. 19 budget workshop.

   While there is a $177,228 increase in the police department budget over last year a $105,773 increase in the fire department’s operating budget and $116,432 for environmental services, decreases were reflected elsewhere in the budget with a $106, 900 reduction in medical insurance and $28,245 in town administration. Overall, the proposed operating budget is $557,097 more than the 2007/2008 fiscal budget. 

   The proposed capital improvement plan (CIP) also increased by 42 percent or $412,638. The increase would be applied to road construction and equipment replacement, Green said.

   Finance committee members who will make recommendations to Town Meeting members will review the proposed budget. The budget will be voted on at Town Meeting in May.

   If the proposed budget is passed at Town Meeting, it will add about 48 cents to the current property tax of $14.68 per $1,000 of assessed value, Green said.

   The proposal also included borrowing money for several projects.

   Green said bonding $1 million in new debt would include $450,000 for the purchase of property for a new police station, $200,000 for a fuel system at Sanford Regional Airport, $150,000 in energy improvements at the town hall annex and $200,000 for a trash compactor at the transfer station.

   The proposed CIP also include a second bond for $6.21 million. That bond includes $5.5 million for construction of the proposed police station, which would not be borrowed until fall 2010, but Green is asking for voter approval in May. A $200,000 bond for a new road salt shed, $210,000 for repairs to the town hall roof and $300,000 for renovations at the town hall are included in the proposal.

   Green recommends the town address capital needs now because the costs will “only get more expensive.”

   He said interest rates are low and contractors are pricing competitively.

   Green said the increase in the town’s tax rate is due to several factors, including the delay in construction of the Wal-Mart/Lowes shopping center in south Sanford, which has not yet generated the revenue expected.

   Green said this was the most challenging budget he has worked on in Sanford.

   He said the slow economy, increasing demand for better services, deteriorating roads and high-energy prices presented challenges in trying to assemble the proposed budget.

   Green said excise tax is expected to be down about $100,000 from $2.9 million in fiscal year 2007/2008.

   “It’s a sign of the economy,” he said. “People aren’t buying cars.”

   Other revenues were expected to be up, including $150,000 in ambulance fees and $50,000 in state revenue sharing.

   But, Green said, taken together, the anticipated revenue figures are flat.

   He said while preparing the budget, he was trying to keep the operating budget within LD1 guidelines while maintaining the existing level of services.

   He said he also wanted to avoid employee layoffs and begin to address long-term capital needs, seek new revenues and justify all the expenses.

   Two part-time positions and one full-time position at the town, which are currently vacant, will not be filled, Green said.

   He said eliminating the second tax bill saved $4,500, but said the town would have to find ways to remind homeowners when their tax bills are due.

   He also slashed two-thirds of funding for plowing at MidTown Mall.

   “I think the people who own businesses there can help pay for plowing,” Green said.

   He said an ordinance outlining responsibility for plowing at the MidTown Mall may have to be drafted.

   Green also listed goals which were met during the 2007/2008 fiscal year.

   Among the accomplishments, he cited community development block grants that were obtained for Rubb, Inc, and Oxford Aviation, a $500,000 downtown grant and completion of a traffic impact fee ordinance. He said significant improvements were made to road maintenance programs and research necessary to make a decision on automated trash and recycling collection was completed.

   The town also worked with Sanford Institute for Savings to keep the bank in town and completed the installation of the new public safety answering point and reverses 911 equipment in the dispatch center.

   Green said the parks and recreation department hosted the Portland Symphony Orchestra, the fire department began a program to train and share fire inspectors among area towns and nearly all the town ordinances have been codified.

   At Sanford Regional Airport a new taxiway was constructed and two new hangars are under construction. A lease was negotiated with Southern Maine Aviation as the fixed-base operator on the east side of the airport and renovations of the building are underway.

   The Modern Continental hangar was demolished and the site was prepared for future development.

   To contact Renee Worthing, email news@intheregister.com.