Link to the 2026 Durham Town Meeting Presentation
2026 Annual Town Meeting · 15 pages · 1,206 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 JUN E 13, 2026
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
• Overlay
The sum of the municipal budget (net of other municipal revenues), the RSU assessment, the County assessment, and overlay is what determines
Municipal the total property taxes being assessed.
Budget
Municipal Budget Articles 5 through 12
Appropriations
FY26 (18-month) FY27 (12-month) % Change (normalized)
General Government $1,143,060 $821,165 7.8%
Public Safety $1,055,920 $776,090 10.2%
Public Works $2,880,550 $1,979,352 3.1%
Community Service $1,000 $1,000 50.0%
Debt Service $805,318 $624,111 16.2%
Transfer to Reserves $595,652 $395,000 -0.5%
Total Appropriations $6,481,500 $4,596,718 6.4%The % Change is normalized to provide a comparative percentage change from one fiscal year to the next.
It calculates the percentage difference between two-thirds of the FY26 amount to the FY27 amount, so that they’re roughly on an “apples to apples” basis.
Municipal Budget Municipal Portion Only
Tax Levy
FY26 (18-month) FY27 (12-month) % Change (normalized)
Total Appropriations $6,481,500 $4,596,718 6.4%
Less: Municipal Revenue $3,765,262 $2,904,141 15.7%
Less: Use of Fund Bal $740,000 $500,000 1.3%
Municipal Tax Levy $1,976,238 $1,192,577 -9.5%The % Change is normalized to provide a comparative percentage change from one fiscal year to the next.
It calculates the percentage difference between two-thirds of the FY26 amount to the FY27 amount, so that they’re roughly on an “apples to apples” basis.
Municipal Budget Total Town Budget
Tax Levy
FY26 (18-month) FY27 (12-month) % Change (normalized)
Municipal Operations $1,976,238 $1,192,577 -9.5%
Education Assessment $10,271,448 $7,807,619 10.1%
County Tax $816,323 $918,788 12.6%
Overlay $20,326 $0 -100.0%
Total Tax Levy $13,084,335 $9,918,984 13.7%The % Change is normalized to provide a comparative percentage change from one fiscal year to the next. For County Tax and Education Assessment, the normalized % calculates the change between FY26 12-month expenditures to FY27. It calculates the percentage difference between two-thirds of the FY26 amount to the FY27 amount, so that they’re roughly on an “apples to apples” basis.
Overlay 0%
County 6% Property Taxes Municipal Where your tax dollars go 15%
FISCAL YEAR 2026
For fiscal year 2026, the total property tax assessment was $13,084,335 and the resulting mil rate was $33.58.
Education 79%
Mil Rate % of Total Education $26.36 78.5% Municipal $5.07 15.1% County $2.08 6.2% Overlay $0.07 0.2%
Overlay 0%
County 9% Property Taxes Municipal Where your tax dollars go
12% FISCAL YEAR 2027
For fiscal year 2027, the estimated property tax assessment
will be approximately $9,918,984 (not including overlay).
Using 2026’s assessed values, the mil rate would be $25.46.
Education Remember, FY26 was for an 18-month period, not the normal
79% 12-month period. So, the FY26’s total tax assessment and the
resulting mil rate figures was roughly 1.5x more than what they
would normally be.
Final valuation figures 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 are based on the mil
Education $20.04 78.7% rate and will affect the final amount for the Municipal portion as
well.
Municipal $3.05 12.0% Education is determined by the RSU adopted budget and
County $2.37 9.3% Durham’s final share of the assessment is not yet known.
Overlay $0.00 0.0%$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 will end FY2026 with a balance of approximately $3.0 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 $13.3
FY2023 FY2024 FY2026 FY2027 FY2028 million, the target range for the unassigned fund balance is
currently between $2.0 million and $3.3 million.FY2027 and FY2028 ending balances are projections
Long-term Debt Amortization
FY2027 FY2028 FY2029 FY2030 FY2031
2018 Fire Truck $58,893 $58,893
2018 Roads $214,650 $208,900 $202,990
2014 PW Equip $91,120 $91,119 $79,938
2019 Roads $259,448 $219,744 $215,943 $212,006
$624,111 $578,656 $498,871 $212,006 $0
Long-Term Municipal Buildings
Current Balance: $147,144
Capital Planning Annual Amount Raised: $5,000INVESTING IN OU R C OMM UNITY
The town maintains long-term capital improvement plan schedules for municipal Public Works
buildings, public works, and public safety. Current Balance: $289,931 The CIP schedules estimate capital acquisitions, Annual Amount Raised: $250,000 construction, and improvements over 10 to 20 years.
The town budgets for these through annual transfers to the reserves. The annual transfers are intended to be steady Fire and Rescue amounts every year, regardless of the actual Current Balance: $567,718 anticipated capital outlays, to prevent large Annual Amount Raised: $140,000 swings year to year due to capital needs. Copies of the long-term plans are available on the town’s website.
Projections are based on currently planned
projects, estimated year of outlay, and estimated costs in the year of the outlay. Municipal Buildings Reserve These projections are updated annually. For FY2027 and FY2028, there are no planned Outlays vs Amounts Raised outlays. For FY2029, planned outlays are for the Public Works Garage furnace and Salt Shed doors.
$180,000
$160,000
$140,000
$120,000
$100,000
$80,000
$60,000
$40,000
$20,000
$0
2027 2032 2037 2042 2047 2052Outlay 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 FY2027, planned outlays are for a plow truck, mobile traffic control lights, and Mill Pond work.
$600,000
$500,000
$400,000
$300,000
$200,000
$100,000
$0
2027 2029 2031 2033 2035 2037 2039 2041 2043Outlay 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 and FY2028, there are no planned Outlays vs Amounts Raised outlays. For FY2029, planned outlays are for a pumper truck.
$1,600,000
$1,400,000
$1,200,000
$1,000,000
$800,000
$600,000
$400,000
$200,000
$0
2027 2032 2037 2042 2047Outlay Raised
Other Town Reserves In addition to Capital Reserves, the town maintains reserves for other purposes.
Contingency Reserve Revaluation Reserve
Current Balance: $50,000 Current Balance: $212,988
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: $25,776 Union Church Restoration Reserve
Used for allow the town to apply for and expend Current Balance: $6,743
grants that require a town match. Used to pay for restoration of the Union Church.THANK YOU FOR PARTICIPATING TODAY!
Source: 50-durham-annual-town-meeting-presentation.pdf on durhammaine.gov. Text extracted with pdftotext; no wording has been corrected.