Councilor calls for property tax relief

In years past, the second of the three readings of Lewiston’s budget has been marked by multitudinous amendments from city councilors eager to leave their mark.

But the second reading of the city’s 2022 budget Monday night drew only three such amendments. And only one of those may be going anywhere, although it will have to wait for the final reading next week.

That amendment came from Councilor John Pernsteiner, who proposed taking approximately $440,000 from city reserves to reduce property taxes. The amount represents about five days of city operations, and Administrative Services Director Dan Marsh estimated there are approximately 108 days worth of reserves on the books.

Pernsteiner suggested that the city could comfortably draw down that fund balance and use it to replace the same amount in property taxes.

“I think it’s good practice to have roughly 90 days (in reserve), and so utilizing five of those days, we still have a cushion, but it also reduces the overall property tax burden,” he said.

Councilor Bob Blakey seconded Pernsteiner’s motion, but only for the sake of discussion. He asked Marsh and City Manager Alan Nygaard if they had any reservations about the move. Nygaard said that while he trusted Marsh’s memory and his numbers, it would be better to come back to the council next Monday for the final budget reading with exact figures.

“I would much rather see us be able to give you the accurate information and then make the correct motion based on that accurate information,” Nygaard said, noting that reducing the tax burden was a “good cause.”

If adopted next week, the amendment would reduce the amount of property tax revenue in the $104 million city budget to $22.9 million from the current $23.3 million.

Another amendment also involved the use of reserve funds, with Councilor Kevin Kelly proposing the use of 2.2 days, or about $200,000, to hire two additional code enforcement officers at the Lewiston Police Department. Code enforcement has been a long-standing problem within the city, with just two officers assigned to educate, police and cite residents regarding things like junk cars, weeds and noise violations.

And while other councilors shared Kelly’s concerns, they noted that the city is adding a new position in the city attorney’s office to help with code enforcement issues. And last week police Chief Budd Hurd noted that one of his code enforcement officers just came back on duty after being out almost a year while recuperating from an injury. Councilor Cari Miller said she would rather wait and see what effect that has on code enforcement before committing to hiring two full-time officers.

Blakey also balked at the one-time funding source for ongoing positions and the lack of discussion the council has had about the matter. He also said Hurd should comment on the proposal, something he couldn’t do Monday since he wasn’t able to attend the meeting.

“I don’t like creating new employment positions on the fly,” Blakey said.

The motion failed when only Kelly voted for it.

Councilor John Bradbury also asked for an amendment to take a proposed $250,000 from the City Library to repay the final amount the city sanitation fund loaned to help build the new library, and refund it directly to ratepayers, rather than putting it in the city budget. That amendment failed for lack of a second.

In other business:

Councilors approved the first reading of an ordinance to create a new urban renewal district that would encompass much of downtown and part of Normal Hill by a vote of 4-2, with Pernsteiner and Bradbury voting no. Mayor Mike Collins was absent.

The ordinance was to come before council earlier this year, but it was pulled back when the American Recovery Plan Act allowed the city to fund a downtown waterline project that had been the new area’s highest priority. The revised plan now focuses on other infrastructure goals, like improved connectivity between Normal Hill and downtown, wayfinding signs to help tourists find notable areas and helping property owners remove dilapidated buildings.

The goals in the plan are largely based on the downtown master plan the council adopted in 2019 to help spur redevelopment in the city’s primary historic district. The council will have to approve two more readings before the area will officially be created. If that happens, the area will begin collecting the property taxes from new growth in the area. The city could then use the money to eventually fund projects, or secure financing based on the promise of future funding.

Mills may be contacted at jmills@lmtribune.com or at (208) 310-1901, ext. 2266.