The Town Council Finance Committee has completed initial review of the proposed municipal budget for 2011. Workshops scheduled for March 16 and March 23 have been canceled.

Capital improvement budget items scheduled for review on March 16 were considered at the committee's March 15 workshop. The March 23 workshop was tentatively scheduled as a "wrapup" session.

Overall the committee added approximately $6,400 to the proposed $8.5 million municipal budget. These changes include decreases in funding requests for the Arts Commission; sand; and air-quality unit repairs at the pool; and increases for Maine State Retirement; full-time pool payroll and part-time pool payroll. (Click here to download funding changes spreadsheet - pdf).

The budget still proposes a 3-cent decrease in the current tax rate of $4.03 for municipal services.

The Finance Committee, a committee of the whole council, will next meet on May 6 to review the school and Community Services budget proposals for fiscal 2011. That meeting is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at Town Hall.

The committee may make further changes to the municipal budget at that meeting, or at future meetings currently scheduled for May 13, when it sets the budget for public hearing; and May 24, when the public hearing is held.

Comprehensive budget information is available on this Web site's budget section.

Previous stories:

• Municipal budget proposal for 2011 poses no spending increase, 3-cent tax rate reduction (02/23/10)