Bowdoinham Select Board Reviews FY27 Budget, Hears Lisbon EMS Presentation

A proposed $202,814 net decrease in Bowdoinham's municipal budget would spare property owners from a town-driven tax increase under the fiscal year 2027 spending plan Town Manager Nicole Briand submitted to the Select Board on March 18.

The Select Board reviewed Briand's budget message and heard a presentation from Lisbon Emergency Medical Services at its March 20 meeting, for which the packet had been posted online. The budget covers the period July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027.

"This budget is designed to sustain the programs and services Bowdoinham residents rely on, while continuing our investments in capital improvements, technology, and our workforce," Briand wrote in the message addressed to Select Board members. "Our goal remains to deliver the highest level of service possible within the Town's available financial resources."

The math behind the net decrease hinges on revenue growth outpacing spending. Department expense budgets rise by $155,278, a 3.7% increase, but estimated revenues climb by $358,092, or 17.2%, more than absorbing the added costs. The three revenue lines driving that growth are Municipal Revenue Sharing, up $250,000; Automobile Excise, up $50,000; and Investment Income, up $25,000.

On the compensation side, Briand's budget builds in a 3% cost-of-living adjustment alongside a 2.0% allowance for merit-based wage increases tied to employee performance evaluations. "The budget line items show an increase of 5%, because we are adding the 3% COLA to last year's 2% merit raise," she wrote, noting that the combined approach is helping the town reach and hold wages at median levels for each position.

The town also changed health insurance carriers, moving coverage to Maine Municipal Health Trust, a transition Briand credited with holding down plan cost increases, though that sentence in the budget message was incomplete in the version posted with the packet.

The budget followed Bowdoinham's standard development path: department heads submit requests, the Town Manager reviews them, the Finance Advisory Committee weighs in, the Select Board considers the plan, and voters have final say at Town Meeting. "The budget is then submitted to the Finance Advisory Committee, then the Select Board and lastly submitted to the voters for final adoption at Town Meeting," Briand wrote.

Lisbon Emergency Medical Services also presented at the March 20 meeting, though the posted packet did not specify the topic, presenter names, or whether the presentation involved a funding request, mutual aid discussion, or service-area matter.

Bowdoinham, designated as Northern New England's first World Health Organization age-friendly community and a member of the AARP Network of Age-Friendly Communities, can be reached at 13 School St., phone 666-5531, or at bowdoinham.com.