GORHAM – Gorham property taxes would hike 58 cents per $1,000 of valuation, if proposed municipal and school budgets are approved.

Under the current proposal, property taxes would increase by $116 on a Gorham home valued at $200,000.

The proposed school budget is now $31.2 million, up from $30.4 million for the fiscal year ending Thursday, June 30. Dennis Libby, chairman of the Gorham School Committee, said the proposed budget represents a 2.74 percent increase.

On the town side, the gross budget proposed by Town Manager David Cole is $11.9 million, up from $11.5 million, representing a 3.96 percent increase.

The Town Council could pass both budgets following a public hearing at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, June 7, at Gorham Municipal Center, 75 South St. If the council OKs the school budget, Gorham voters would be asked to ratify it in a referendum on Tuesday, June 14.

Gorham finance director Maureen Finger said before last week’s joint budget workshop with the Town Council and School Department that the town’s current tax rate is $15.90 per $1,000 of valuation. Under the proposed spending plans, the new tax rate would increase to $16.48.

Finger said the proposed school budget would increase the tax rate 31 cents; the town budget, 25 cents; and the county tax, 2 cents.

The school department had previously figured its budget would increase the local tax rate only 13 cents but had miscalculated.

“They initially used the wrong valuation figure for the current year,” Cole said in last week’s meeting.

From an earlier $31.3 million school budget figure, school finance officer Hollis Cobb said before last week’s workshop that the school budget came in $85,000 less. Cobb said the department had planned for a 10 percent increase in the insurance rate from Anthem but the increase turned out to be 6.5 percent.

The school budget also includes $1.7 million in first year principal and interest payments on the new $21 million Great Falls Elementary School that is under construction.

The new school is expected to open in September.