This is the second part in a short series about the 2026-27 budget. To recap last week's information about expenditures, after $1.16 million in adjustments (mostly reductions) were made to my initial budget proposal, a total budget increase of 5.46% is now ready to be decided by voters at the district budget being held this Thursday evening @ 7pm in the Greely Center for the Arts. All registered voters in Cumberland and North Yarmouth are invited to attend and vote at this meeting.
Due to uncalculated property growth in both towns, the tax effect is preliminary only at this point in the budget process. As an early estimate, the tax effect in Cumberland would be 5.16% and in North Yarmouth it would be 5.79%.
Please note that once new property growth is factored in, both tax rates are expected to be lower than these estimates.
What does the estimated property tax effect actually mean? Property taxes in Maine are derived using what is called a mil rate. The mil rate is the dollars/cents calculated per $1,000 of assessed property value.
For the proposed 2026-27 school budget, in Cumberland the mil rate increase is proposed at $1.30, raising $130 more for each $100,000 of assessed property value per year to support education. In North Yarmouth, the mil rate increase is proposed at $1.20, raising $120 more for each $100,000 of assessed property value per year to support education. As an example, for a home assessed at $500,000, in Cumberland the property tax increase for schools would be $650 annually, or $54/month, and in North Yarmouth the increase would be $600 annually, or $50/month. Again, these are early estimates and both towns are expected to see a lower tax effect at the end of the process.
At Thursday's district budget meeting, registered voters from Cumberland and North Yarmouth will gather to vote on the budget, article by article. This is a town meeting-style proceeding - you can speak, make motions, and vote. The amount in each article can be amended up or down by the voters present at this meeting. Whatever budget comes out of this meeting is the one sent to voters for approval at the polls on June 9.
On an unrelated note, as a follow-up to the safety alert that occurred on May 1, please view this brief video message: https://youtu.be/v4TcgIOQDzA