BIDDEFORD — With very little discussion, the Biddeford City Council passed the  Fiscal Year 2020 city and education budget on Tuesday, with most measures being unanimously approved. The passage of the budget adds an estimated 36 cents to the tax rate beginning July 1.

Although the council passed the budget, the education portion won’t be finalized until its approved by residents. A vote on that referendum will take place 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday, June 11 at the Tiger Gym at Biddeford High School on Maplewood Avenue.

On Tuesday, the council passed the FY 2020 expenditure budget which includes $33.1 million for city expenses, $38.9 million for education — including about $689,500 for adult education — and $1.2 million for the county tax — which has not yet been finalized by York County commissioners — bringing the grand total to $73.2 million. The total amount of taxes to be raised is about $48.3 million.

The estimated mil rate for FY 2020 will be about $20.06 per $1,000 of assessed value — the final tax rate will be set in late June, Finance Director Cheryl Fournier said — that’s a 36 cent increase over the current $19.70 tax rate. Based on the new rate, property taxes for a median valued home of $227,1000 will be about $4,154.42 for the year, versus $4,079.87 last year, a $74.55 increase, City Manager James Bennett said in an earlier interview.

In addition, Bennett said Tuesday, the city portion of the budget will be amended within the next month or two as the city was recently informed that the federal government is awarding $7.5 million to the Biddeford Municipal Airport, with no local match required.

The majority voted for the $5.4 million expenditure budget/$5.2 million revenue budget for the Airport Operations Fund. On Thursday, Fournier said $258,000 towards expenditures will come from the grant.

The airport fund was the only subject of debate as councilors finalized the budget.

“There’s been a huge investment … in the airport,” said Councilor Stephen St. Cyr, who voted against the Airport Operations Fund. The airport, he said, should provide “an opportunity to do more and make more” for residents. It should provide benefit for the entire city, he said, “not for a relatively small group of individuals.”

Councilor Marc Lessard also voted against the airport fund said “the highest and best use of that acreage would be to add it to the business park/industrial park, of which we are nearly out of that type of acreage.”

The reason the airport continues, he said, is because closing it would cost the city millions to repay grants from the federal government.

The majority of the council voted in favor of the fund. “The airport is an asset,” Council President John McCurry said.

“It adds to revenue in ways that we can’t necessarily quantify in the actual fund,” Councilor Amy Clearwater said.

She said people fly into the airport and visit Biddeford restaurants, hotels, shops and use other local services. The monetary benefit to the city “is just not captured in literal dollar for dollar revenue,” she said.

Fournier said that the city may take in additional revenue than has been accounted for through new development. If that is the case, she said, additional funds could be used for capital projects for the schools and the city, added to the general fund and increase the McArthur Library budget item. During a May 8 public hearing on the budget, a number of people spoke in favor of increasing the city’s contribution to the library from $505,000, which was approved on Tuesday, to $527,000.

— Associate Editor Dina Mendros can be contacted at 780-9014 or dmendros@journaltribune.com