BRUNSWICK

Some Brunswick residents aren’t happy that taxes may increase .5 percent more than expected, and town officials are now looking at ways to mitigate that impact.

When $628,000 was kicked back to the Brunswick School District by the state, it was decided by the town council that $400,000 would go toward funding teaching positions and other expenditures that had been left unfunded in the school budget. It was also decided that $200,000 would be used to lower the tax rate impact to 2.5 percent from 3 percent. The remaining $28,000 was apportioned to the district’s budget for next year.

But at the same time, the state changed the formula for reimbursing towns for the Homestead Exemption, from 60 percent to 45 percent, leaving a $200,000 shortfall, making the additional money from the state a wash in the budget.

On Monday, the council directed Town Manager John Eldridge to produce a list containing sources where $200,000 could be siphoned to lower the tax rate impact to 2.5 percent, as promised at the referendum vote in June.

Resident Jean Powers said voters expected the money would be used to offset the tax impact, and funds should be taken from another source to reduce the tax impact. Powers suggested money come from the $550,000 sale of the formerly embattled Mere Point property, or taken from the general fund balance.

“You should resign if you don’t pursue it, because you’re not doing your job,” she told councilors.

Eldridge said the .5 percent decrease would be only for this year, and funded by a one-time source that will need to be made up next year.

Eldridge last week noted that a .5 percent in the increase in taxes is estimated to be about $170 for a household value of $115,000.

The Homestead Exemption provides a reduction of up to $20,000 in the value of a home for property tax purposes. To qualify, a person must be a permanent resident of Maine, the home must be the permanent residence, and the applicant must have owned a home in Maine for the 12 months prior to applying and an application must be filed on or before April 1 with the municipality where the property is located, according to the state’s website.

According to the Maine Center for Economic Policy, the average amount of money saved by the exemption is $313 for about 213,000 people in the state.

The council will meet again Monday, Aug. 21, where Eldridge may present the list of where money may come from to reduce the tax impact.

jlaaka@timesrecord.com