There has been a tremendous amount of hand-wringing in Winslow lately over the proposed school budget and the use of the undesignated fund balance to maintain the town property taxes at their current level. One needs only to look at any one of the Facebook groups associated with Winslow to see the concern some Winslow taxpayers have of using up to $950,000 from the undesignated fund to keep the property tax rate in Winslow flat and alleviate any tax increases for the upcoming year.

Many of those doing the complaining are quick to compare Winslow to surrounding towns when it is fiscally convenient yet are nowhere to be found (or read, as the case may be) when information not fitting their narrative is introduced.  Information like Waterville using up to $2 million from their fund balance to hold their tax rate to a 0.5 mil (property tax) increase of approximately 20.4 mils. Or Oakland using up to $975,000 of their fund balance, as well as $175,000 from another account to keep their increase down to 1.04 mils for a total of 15.45 mils. Or Fairfield using approximately $950,000 of their fund balance to hold their mil increase to 0.7 mils for a total of 22.7 mils. Compared to our neighboring towns, Winslow is doing quite all right, thank you very much. No tax increases here.

Another concern brought forward is how the use of the $950,000 from the undesignated fund balance will automatically result in higher taxes next year. I would like to draw everyone’s attention to the eight year period of 2009-2016 when the Winslow Town Council used the undesignated fund every year to keep the property tax rate static. During the five years starting in 2012 and ending in 2016, the council used $19.1 million of the undesignated fund balance to keep the property rate at 15.50 mils each year. That averages out to almost $4 million a year ($3,820,000 to be exact). That makes a sum of up to $950,000 seem relatively small in comparison. If you do not believe me, go to FY2023FinalBudgetProposal-2023.04.25(reduced).pdf (revize.com) and see for yourself. It is there in black and white on page 60 of the report.

One of the most vociferous opponents of the proposed budget up for vote on June 11 was a member of the council during all five of the above-mentioned years. This councilor voted yes on town budgets that used almost $4 million dollars each year to keep the property tax rate steady at 15.50 mils. This same former councilor wants everyone to vote against something he did five times in a row. With the amount being used for this budget at almost $3 million dollars less ($3,820,000 for five years in a row versus approximately $950,000 for one year), consistency be not thy name, sir.

I do not remember seeing any of the other hand-wringers and naysayers at Town Council meetings during that time frame either. Not one person stood up and complained how using money out of the undesignated fund would increase their property taxes the next year. Not one. I have been on Facebook since at least 2013 and I don’t recall seeing any resistance to using the undesignated fund to keep property taxes the same for any year, except for this year.

Is all the concern really about the use of the undesignated fund? Based upon previous history, I tend to doubt it. The use of the undesignated fund and the fear of increased property tax values is being used as a scare tactic. The Town Council has demonstrated that it is possible to use the undesignated fund, for an average of almost $4 million a year for many consecutive years, without raising property taxes for Winslow residents. Go to the website I provided. It links to the town of Winslow webpage. Go to page 60 of the proposal and find out for yourself and then ask the people who are doing the complaining why this year, but not then.