Hallowell Finance Committee members will deliberate on almost $200,000 in frozen spending Wednesday evening as city officials attempt to limit the tax burden on residents in next year’s budget. The meeting begins at 5:30 p.m. in council chambers at Hallowell City Hall, pictured in 2016. Andy Molloy/Kennebec Journal file

HALLOWELL — Finance Committee members will deliberate on almost $200,000 in frozen spending Wednesday evening as city officials attempt to limit the tax burden on residents in next year’s budget.

The Hallowell City Council agreed to make the curtailments during its Nov. 12 meeting, hoping to use the funds as a “down payment” on next year’s property taxes after months of resident frustration about the 20% tax increase passed by council members this summer.

Previous attempts to cut spending and reduce tax burden were found to be illegal, leading four former mayors to write a letter condemning the budget process and the lack of knowledge from councilors and staff. Even while approving the spending freeze last month, some councilors were still uncertain about the legality of curtailments.

But this time, according to legal advice the city received from the Maine Municipal Association, the new curtailments appear to be a legally permissible step forward.

Kate Dufour Contributed photo

“In the absence of any error or overvaluation, there’s certainly no legal obligation to curtail spending,” Jen Thompson, a staff attorney with MMA, said in a Nov. 25 email to Dufour, city councilor in Ward One and chairperson of the Finance Committee. “Having said that, if the Council and/or Manager (as the City’s purchasing agent), has determined that curtailing spending and allocating resulting savings to next year’s budget to help reduce the amount that needs to be raised from taxes next year, I think that’s well within its authority.”

Dufour said she expects the committee to review the $190,469 in approved frozen spending line by line Wednesday evening, along with other potential cuts proposed during the last several months. She said she encourages residents to attend the meeting — which begins at 5:30 p.m. in the council chambers — to suggest other curtailments for the committee to consider.

The frozen spending includes $50,000 from the city’s road paving budget, leaving about $120,000 left to be spent; $33,000 to lease a new space for the police department, which is housed in the basement of Hallowell City Hall; and $19,900 from the city’s public works budget, with curtailments to culverts, building maintenance, catch basins, mowing and personal protective equipment.

“At the end of the day, if this process has taught us anything, it’s that we’re not going to make everybody happy,” Dufour said. “But we will have definitely done our due diligence in looking at every one of those line items and having conversations with respect to what can and what should be reduced.”

The spending the Finance Committee chooses to save Wednesday will be sent to the City Council for final approval during its meeting on Monday. Those funds will be set aside in a special reserve account to pay down expenses next year.

Dufour, whose 13-year stint on the council ends in January, said the two meetings will allow city officials to finish “tying up loose ends” and close the monthslong contentious discussion on the 2024-25 budget.