BATH

Bath City Council is holding a special public hearing Wednesday to discuss the upcoming fiscal-year budget, which the city’s finance director said is going down by more than $130,000.

The meeting begins at 6 p.m. in the Council Chambers at City Hall.

Juli Millett, in a memo provided to the Coastal Journal, said the total city budget is decreasing by $133,368 from last year because there is no sewer bond debt payment due. The city will pay its first bond payment on the voter-approved sewer bond next year.

Millett said the general fund budget is increasing 1.53 percent, or $163,898, due to minimal salary and benefit increases. There is some saving in heating and insurances that is offsetting some of the increase.

Overall, the city is asking to spend $15,878,122 in the upcoming fiscal year, down from $16,011,490 last year.

Among individual line items within the general fund budget, the city is proposing spending an additional $58,965, or 2.79 percent, on employee benefits and $42,069 more for fire and ambulance.

Bath is saving $15,000 in insurances and more than $6,700 in city hall maintenance costs. There’s also a $4,744 reduction in the cemetery and parks line item, representing a savings of 1.14 percent.

In other business, the Council will:

•  prepare and post the warrant for the Regional School Unit #1 budget validation election on June 12.
•  hear the first reading of a bond ordinance that would authorize the issuance of $1 million in bond funds to finance wastewater infrastructure improvements.
•  hear the first reading of a bond ordinance that would authorize the issuance of up to $283,000 of the city’s general obligation bonds to finance the purchase of vehicles and equipment.