My hometown of Lisbon is, like many towns in Maine, amid its FY26 budget process. Since (now more than ever) we don’t know what the next four weeks are going to bring, it’s hard to make accurate projections regarding the future. Yet, we’ve constructed a process (albeit one I disagree with) and we must make projections. To fund the initial budget, it has been documented that a property tax increase would be needed. What that would look like will come into focus throughout the process, and citizens should be actively engaged if they can be.

There is one question currently on everyone’s mind: “What will happen to our property taxes?”

Our locally generated revenue comes primarily from property tax. This is usually viewed as sustainable because property tax is one of the least volatile forms of taxation. In general, the town’s capacity to raise property taxes roughly correlates with property values.

Property values may change quickly in a market, but for taxing purposes, they are slower to fluctuate; usually it takes roughly 18 months to fully calculate decreases and increases in property values. With what seems like a looming recession, property assessments may be too high and would warrant correction. The town assessor has a history of underestimating values, although that has changed in recent years (my current valuation is substantially higher than years prior, largely based on the region’s lack of supply, driving prices up to unprecedented levels).

As the Town Charter is currently written, the Town Council is free to set the budget they need, the numbers are run and formulas are applied, and taxes are assessed to property owners. Currently in Lisbon, citizens do not get a vote on the municipal budget. Maine law requires that all school budgets go to referendum, but since that law was implemented, municipal budgets in some towns (Lisbon in particular) have more than eclipsed the local contribution to the school budget.

In FY22, the municipal budget represented 38.20% of the property tax levy.

In FY25, the Municipal budget represented an unprecedented 58.78% of the property tax levy. Based off the initial FY26 presentation, that is set to increase to 62.11% of the property tax levy.

In 2019, Lisbon published a Comprehensive Plan. Several questions were posed to those willing to answer.

• 87.74% viewed “Improving the Lisbon school system” as a high or moderate priority.

• 67.53% viewed “Improving public safety services” as a high or moderate priority.

• 95.46% viewed “Maintaining and improving roads” as a high or moderate priority.

• 70.78% viewed “Increasing recreational opportunities in Lisbon” it as a high or moderate priority.

Yet, since that plan was implemented (FY20), the budget allocations have not coincided.

What now, then?

I, along with four of your neighbors, believed in what we saw as the best way forward and formed a Petitioner’s Committee. We submitted an affidavit to put a referendum on the ballot in November to rewrite Article VI – Section 6.06 of the Town Charter.

How we got here is far less important than how we ensure we move forward, together. For Lisbon to truly ensure its sustainability, tough questions must be asked.

To refer to Lisbon’s Comprehensive Plan, “Page 9 | Spotlight Topic #1”: “If Lisbon is to be the premier community for families in Androscoggin County, it needs to do the basics well. For a growing residential community, this means making sure the community is investing in its schools and maintaining the investments made by prior generations in roads, sewer and water infrastructure.”

To get the petition on the ballot for vote, it will require 635 signatures. Circulators are currently going around town, along with a planned set-up at the April 15 referendum in the Lisbon High School Gymnasium. I leave everyone with one final question: Do you want a say in the allocation of 95% of your property tax allocation or are you comfortable staying the course? The details of the petition can be found on the backside of signature forms. Circulators are required to ensure signees read the petition.

Charles Turgeon is a resident of Lisbon Falls.