8388_LGP_MechanicFalls_2022AnnualReport_Web

BUDGET SUMMARY

Town of Mechanic Falls

108 Lewiston Street

Mechanic Falls, ME 04256

Phone: 345-2871 FAX: 345-9201

www.TownOfMechanicFalls.com

To: The Town Council, Budget Committee, Staff, and Citizens

FY ’23 Budget Letter: Update

First, I want to extend a big thank you to Lisa Prevost for her invaluable assistance in the creation of this proposed FY ’23 Budget. Second, I also want to thank all of the Department Heads for working with us, and taking the time to comb through this budget line by line. As many of you know, creating a municipal budget is indeed a balancing act of providing necessary town services weighed against the ability of the taxpayer to afford those services. In the end, while no budget is perfect, I hope you’ll agree that all involved gave a good faith effort to achieve a livable balance. The FY ’23 budget journey begins with a few important themes to keep in mind and they are as follows: 1. Keep Good People – The Council believes and I agree, that we indeed have good staff, many have been here for decades… and on several occasions the Council has given me the message to do everything we can to help retain our employees. 2. Mechanic Falls Police Department – The Council has signed a resolution that states they wish to keep and maintain our own Police Department. 3. Inflation – It’s no secret that inflation has risen dramatically over the past year, and as of this writing CPI sits at 8.5%. 4. Hard Cost Increases – The County Tax is up over $23,000 and Our Worker’s Comp cost has increased by over $20,000 In response to these themes, you will find a concerted effort to retain staff with a proposed 5% pay increase, a recently adjusted pay scale for police staff, and a budget that is soft on most departmental and capital expenditures to help off-set these necessary adjustments. In fact, when one looks at the FY ’23 Budget Summary Sheet and sees the proposed “Net to be Raised” bottom line increase year over year at $92,279 with $43,000 of that coming in just 2 hard cost

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