Town Council Approves Budget at 3.75% Increase, Adds Key Investments for Community

In their May 7 meeting, the Scarborough Town Council passed the fiscal year 2026 municipal and school budget. The new budget – valued at just over $90 million – will result in an estimated 3.75% tax rate increase. Over half is allocated to the School budget, which will go to referendum for voter approval in June. Public safety is another major budget driver. The final tax rate will be confirmed in August when the annual tax commitment is made by the Assessor.

The budget starting point when first presented by the Town Manager and Superintendent equated to an approximately 3.48% tax rate increase, considerably lower than the three year average. The budget was developed within the context of last year’s town-wide revaluation (the average residential property tax bill increased by 7%), and the anticipation of a significant capital investment made to our schools in the near future. The budget focuses mainly on essential services through a continued investment in staffing, infrastructure, facilities, and equipment needed to keep town operations running. 68% of the capital plan is to maintain existing facilities, infrastructure, and equipment. The budget also absorbs the associated costs of a significant staffing investment last year.

After several meetings to review department and capital budgets during the month of April, the Town Council’s Finance committee made several recommended adjustments to the Town Council, all of which were approved. Acknowledging a need for additional public safety staffing, they added 8 new full-time firefighter positions, 4 new patrol officers, and 1 public safety dispatcher. All positions are deferred for cost-saving measures. 

The increased staffing in the Fire department allows for a third ambulance to be staffed, which was successfully trialed with grant funds this year. The last time the Town added a staffed ambulance was 25 years ago, when the annual call volume was 2,200; now they receive over 6,000 yearly calls per year. The new positions will help to enhance local emergency response capabilities, having direct benefit to the community.

The 4 new officers with the Police department will also better serve the community. Currently, the department is running on minimum staffing levels for patrol a significant portion of the time—two officers and one sergeant on the road responding to calls. This has been the same minimum staffing for over 35 years and is not as sustainable with higher call volumes, specifically mental health related calls that require at least two, sometimes three, officers. The department aims to increase their minimum staffing to 3 officers and one sergeant to not only meet these calls for service, but also to be more of a visible community presence for safety and traffic enforcement. The dedicated traffic work to influence driver behavior is a response to sentiments in the community surveys and feedback heard on a weekly basis from residents.

The finance committee also recommended funding for a METRO pilot project for $65,000. Scarborough currently has two public transit routes along Route 1 only but has the opportunity for more to meet the high demand of services from seniors and those with limited mobility. Funding was added to meet a need that the community has expressed as an area for improvement; in the 2023 community survey only 20% of residents were satisfied with public transportation in Scarborough. 

A couple new capital items were added to the budget in response to community feedback during the budget review process. The Council has approved to add new pickleball courts ($100,000) and to add lights at Peterson Field ($75,000). 

While the tax rate increase has been projected to be 3.75% or a new mil rate of $11.34 per $1,000 in property value, up from $10.93, the actual increase will likely be lower based on an analysis provided by the Town’s Assessor over the last 5 years. Reviewing that analysis, the actual mil rate fell somewhere between $.01 to $.12 less than the projected rate at the time of tax commitment in August. 

The Town of Scarborough remains committed to serving the community with high quality service and maintaining focus on the priorities of residents. “The budget sets a clear path forward to ensure the level of services our community expects remains unwavering,” said Tom Hall, Scarborough Town Manager. “Residents have told us they value public safety, well maintained infrastructure, and our schools. These areas are well represented in the budget and the Council and staff continue to drive these priorities forward.”