Lewiston City Council says no to property tax hike, approves FY2025 budget

A vacant position for a groundskeeper in the parks and recreation department was cut Monday in a city of Lewiston budget that contains no increase in property taxes.

The Lewiston City Council on Monday passed a $114.2 million budget for the 2025 fiscal year with $24.2 million in property taxes in the third and final readings of the measures.

The budget the council approved in a second reading last week had a 1.55% increase in property tax revenue, but elected officials approved more cuts Monday.

The cuts in the budget were introduced in an amendment by Councilor Hannah Liedkie, who described them by category during the meeting.

After the meeting, Liedkie provided a couple of examples, including the groundskeeping position that cost about $60,000 with benefits, she said.

Another decrease was a reduction in an amount earmarked for firefighter physicals by about $30,000, she said.

All positions in the police and fire department, including ones that are vacant, were retained in the final version of the 2025 fiscal year budget, she said.

“I met with city staff, who did a great job identifying areas that we could reduce and allow for some savings in each of these areas,” Liedkie said.

The budget that was passed “does not take away from the investments we need to make to ensure that our pipes don’t fail, that our roads are sound and that we’re moving forward,” she said.

In a related action Monday, the council approved a foregone property tax increase resolution that would allow the city to recover as much as $710,654 for possible use in a future budget. Councilors Kassee Forsmann and John Spickelmire voted against the measure.

The $710,654 is equal to what a 3% property tax increase for the city would have been for the fiscal year 2025 budget, said Aimee Gordon, city of Lewiston finance director and treasurer.

If the city uses opts to access the foregone property increase for a future budget, it would have to follow a number of state rules, Gordon said.

In another matter, the council didn’t hold the second and third readings of an ordinance that would legalize the use of shipping containers for storage.

City of Lewiston Community Director Shannon Grow requested the readings not be held so city staff could rework the proposed ordinance to eliminate building permit fees for shipping containers used for storage. The revised ordinance would still require that containers adhere to rules about property setbacks and not obstruct visibility at intersections, Grow said.

Williams may be contacted at ewilliam@lmtribune.com or (208) 848-2261.