Link to the 2025 Durham Town Meeting Presentation
Archive Annual Town Meeting Information · 17 pages · 1,534 words · all documents · the town's PDF →
Durham Annual Town Meeting S E L E C T B O A R D P R E S E N TAT I O N APRIL 5, 2025
Fiscal Year 2026
The Town is transitioning to a The transition requires an 18-
July-to-June fiscal year month fiscal year
• It aligns the town with the state’s • This year’s budget runs from
and the RSU’s fiscal year, as well January 2025 through June 2026
as with most other municipalities.
• As a result, all budget figures
• It helps make accounting for and being voted on today are roughly
managing the budget and finances 1.5x what they would have
a bit easier otherwise been.
• RSU and County assessments
will be known by the time we vote • Once the transition is complete,
at the annual town meeting the town will return to a normal
• Aligns better with the annual 12-month budget for fiscal year
assessment, tax commitment, 2027 (July 2026 through June
and municipal valuation reporting 2027).
processes• The annual town meeting will be in June, before the fiscal year starts
The municipal budget (what we’re voting on today) is the portion of the town’s total budget that pays for municipal operations.
Other portions of the town’s budget are:
• RSU assessment
• County assessment
• Tax Increment Financing (TIF)
• Overlay
The sum of the municipal budget (net of other municipal revenues), the RSU assessment, the County assessment, TIFs (the town does not
Municipal currently have any), and overlay is what determines the total property taxes being assessed.
Budget
Municipal Budget Articles 5 through 13
Appropriations
FY24 (12-month) FY26 (18-month) % Change (normalized)
General Government $667,756 $1,143,060 14.1%
Public Safety $622,495 $1,055,920 13.1%
Public Works $1,865,463 $2,880,550 2.9%
Community Service $16,700 $1,000 -96.0%
Debt Service $780,349 $805,318 -31.2%
Transfer to Reserves $616,836 $595,652 -35.6%
Total Appropriations $4,569,599 $6,481,500 -5.4%The % Change is normalized to provide a comparative percentage change from one fiscal year to the next. It calculates the percentage difference between one-and-a-half times the FY24 amount to the FY26 amount, so that they’re on an “apples to apples” basis.
Municipal Budget Municipal Portion Only
Tax Levy
FY24 (12-month) FY26 (18-month) % Change (normalized)
Total Appropriations $4,569,599 $6,481,500 -5.4%
Less: Municipal Revenue $2,425,474 $3,651,770 0.4%
Less: Use of Fund Bal $668,000 $740,000 -26.1%
Municipal Tax Levy $1,476,125 $2,089,730 -5.6%The % Change is normalized to provide a comparative percentage change from one fiscal year to the next. It calculates the percentage difference between one-and-a-half times the FY24 amount to the FY26 amount, so that they’re on an “apples to apples” basis.
Municipal Budget Total Town Budget
Tax Levy
FY24 (12-month) FY26 (18-month) % Change (normalized)
Municipal Operations $1,476,125 $2,089,730 -5.6%
Education Assessment $6,088,292 $10,022,466 9.7%
County Tax $742,140 $816,323 -26.7%
Overlay $19,751 $0 -100.0%
Total Tax Levy $8,326,308 $12,928,519 3.5%The County’s tax assessment for 2025 is a 10% increase over 2024. During the 18-month fiscal year, the town is only being assessed once by the County.
The % Change is normalized to provide a comparative percentage change from one fiscal year to the next. It calculates the percentage difference between one-and-a-half times the FY24 amount to the FY26 amount, so that they’re on an “apples to apples” basis.
Overlay 0%
County 9% Property Taxes Where your tax dollars go
Municipal FISCAL YEAR 2024 18% For fiscal year 2024, the total property tax assessment was $8,326,308 and the resulting mil rate was $21.75.
Education 73%
Mil Rate % of Total Education $15.899 73.1% Municipal $3.850 17.7% County $1.936 8.9% Overlay $0.065 0.3%
Overlay 0%
County 6% Property Taxes Municipal Where your tax dollars go 16%
FISCAL YEAR 2026
For fiscal year 2026, the estimated property tax assessment
will be approximately $12,928,519.
Using 2024’s assessed values, the mil rate would be $33.772.
Education Remember, this is for an 18-month period, not the normal 12-
78% month period. So, the total tax assessment and the resulting
mil rate figures are roughly 1.5x more than what they would
otherwise be.
Valuations are finalized just before the taxes are committed
and will affect the mil rate. Generally, valuations increase year
over year, so the mil rate will likely be lower than the estimate
here, all else being equal.
Mil Rate % of Total Homestead and BETE reimbursements and the overlay are all
based on the mil rate and will affect the final amount for the
Education $26.173 77.5% Municipal portion.
Municipal $5.471 16.2% Education is determined by the RSU adopted budget and final
amounts are not yet known.
County $2.128 6.3%
The County portion is lower than all else because there will
Overlay $0.00 0.0% only be one assessment during the 18-monh period.$4.0 General Fund $3.5 Fund Balance $3.0
M A N A G I N G F O R L O N G - T E R M H E A LT H Target Range $2.5 The General Fund’s unassigned fund balance ended FY2024 with a balance just under $3.3 million. $2.0 Too little unassigned fund balance means the town becomes financially inflexible and unstable and could start $1.5 running into cash flow issues. Too much unassigned fund balance means the town has $1.0 more than necessary and can use the excess to reduce the tax burden.
$0.5 In general, the unassigned fund balance should be
between 15% and 25% of total annual expenditures.
$- Given the town’s annual expenditures of roughly $11
FY2022 FY2023 FY2024 FY2026 FY2027 million, the target range for the unassigned fund balance is
currently between $1.65 million and $2.75 million.FY2026 and FY2027 ending balances are projections
Long-term Debt Amortization
FY2026 FY2027 FY2028 FY2029 FY2030
2018 Fire Truck $117,786 $58,893 $58,893
2018 Roads $231,680 $214,650 $208,900 $202,990
2014 PW Equip $182,238 $91,119 $91,119 $79,938
2019 Roads $273,614 $259,448 $219,744 $215,943 $212,006
$805,318 $624,110 $578,656 $498,871 $212,006
Long-Term Municipal Buildings
Current Balance: $70,866
Capital Planning Annual Amount Raised: $10,000INVESTING IN OUR COMMUNITY
The town maintains long-term capital improvement plan schedules for municipal Public Works
buildings, public works, and public safety. Current Balance: $329,800 The CIP schedules estimate capital acquisitions, Annual Amount Raised: $205,000 construction, and improvements over 10 to 20 years. The town budgets for these through annual transfers to the reserves. Fire and Rescue The annual transfers are intended to be steady amounts every year, regardless of the actual Current Balance: $322,091 anticipate capital outlays, to prevent large swings Annual Amount Raised: $180,000 year to year due to capital needs. Copies of the long-term plans are available on the town’s website. Amounts raised for FY26 are 1.5x the annual amount raised due to the 18-month budget projects, estimated year of outlay, and estimated costs in the year of the outlay. Municipal Buildings Reserve These projections are updated annually. For FY2026, planned outlays are for town office Outlays vs Amounts Raised septic system repairs/upgrades, and a fire station boiler.
Projections are based on currently planned
$160,000
$140,000
$120,000
$100,000
$80,000
$60,000
$40,000
$20,000
$0
2026 2031 2036 2041 2046 2051 2056Outlay Raised
Projections are based on currently planned
Public Works Reserve projects, estimated year of outlay, and estimated
costs in the year of the outlay.Outlays vs Amounts Raised These projections are updated annually. For FY2026, planned outlays are for a pick-up truck, a loader, and a flatbed.
$500,000
$450,000
$400,000
$350,000
$300,000
$250,000
$200,000
$150,000
$100,000
$50,000
$0
2026 2028 2030 2032 2034 2036Outlay Raised
Projections are based on currently planned
projects, estimated year of outlay, and estimated costs in the year of the outlay. Fire and Rescue Reserve These projections are updated annually. For FY2026, planned outlays are for computer Outlays vs Amounts Raised aided dispatch.
$1,000,000
$900,000
$800,000
$700,000
$600,000
$500,000
$400,000
$300,000
$200,000
$100,000
$0
2026 2031 2036 2041 2046Outlay Raised
Other Town Reserves In addition to Capital Reserves, the town maintains reserves for other purposes.
Contingency Reserve Revaluation Reserve
Current Balance: $16,953 Current Balance: $220,000
Used for unplanned expenditures. Allows the town Used to pay for the revaluation of properties to
to be flexible to respond to unexpected events. facilitate the fair distribution of taxes based on up-
to-date values
Grants Matching Reserve
Current Balance: $26,848 Union Church Restoration Reserve
Used for allow the town to apply for and expend Current Balance: $6,423
grants that require a town match. Used to pay for restoration of the Union Church.Land Use Ordinance Amendments
• Resource Protection District Revisions – Article 19
• Boundary adjustments based on new natural resources data provided by the State
• Removes about 1500 acres added in 2023
• Facilitates expansions of existing buildings
• Contract Zoning for Large Energy Systems – Article 20
• Standards for solar farms were added in 2024 to address safety and visual impacts
• Standards to be added for battery energy storage systems to address safety and environmental impacts
• Contract zoning to be added to control placement of very large energy system projects
• Historic Preservation Process and Standards – Article 21
• Standards revised to meet federal and state legal requirements
• Shift from focus on districts to individual historic properties
• System streamlined to ensure due process rights for property owners
THANK YOU FOR PARTICIPATING TODAY!
Source: 50-durham-annual-town-meeting-presentation-3-26-25.pdf on durhammaine.gov. Text extracted with pdftotext; no wording has been corrected.