Bucksport officials eye broad budget cuts
‘We promised our constituents that our budget conversations would be thorough,’ mayor says
Bucksport officials continue their review of proposed reductions advance of a June budget vote. Photo courtesy of the Town of Bucksport.
April 15, 2026
By Emily Baer
BUCKSPORT—Bucksport town officials continued their ongoing discussion about proposed cuts to the town’s draft budget during a town council meeting on April 9. The proposed reductions would impact multiple departments and are part of a comprehensive effort to close a $250,000 budget gap.
In addition to approving cuts to funding for social service agencies, the council discussed the ongoing review of its partnership with the Down East Family YMCA and limits on infrastructure improvements, seasonal hiring and staffing levels at the municipal office.
Approving reduced municipal funding for social service agencies
Town Manager Jacob Gran said town councilors sent recommendations for funding requests from third-part social service agencies ahead of the meeting. Agencies that received majority support from councilors were reviewed and discussed one-by-one.
Generally, the council agreed to prioritize organizations that provided services in Bucksport that are otherwise non-existent.
“Our priorities have to remain [on] examining everything at a financial level as tightly as possible this year,” said Bucksport Mayor Paul Bisonette.
The council voted to support Community Concerns ($2,500)
The council voted to support H.O.M.E ($4,000)
The council voted to support the Bucksport Area Child Care Center ($4,000)
The council voted to support the Bucksport Robotics Team ($5,000)
The council voted to support the Bucksport Area Senior Citizens Center ($6,000)
The council approved a total of $21,500 in funding for social service agencies, a $63,500 reduction from previous funding levels.
Balancing program quality and demographic constraints in RSU 25
In a presentation of RSU 25’s draft budget, Superintendent Josh Tripp said declining state revenue and shifting enrollment patterns have created an unusually complicated budget scenario. He emphasized the district’s goal of maintaining strong academic programming while remaining fiscally responsible to the four communities served.
“We've been able to offer quality programming at a much less rate than [others] around us,” he said. “It's something that we're proud of, but it's also something we have to be able to manage.”
A key concern is a significant reduction in state subsidy, driven by fewer students, changes in reported economically disadvantaged counts, and sharply increased property valuations in towns like Bucksport and Orland. These factors have shifted more of the funding burden onto local taxpayers and increased the required local contribution by roughly $400,000.
Despite these challenges, the district reduced its initial budget and brought the overall proposed increase down to 1.76%, below inflation. Savings came from lower-than-expected insurance costs and staffing adjustments made largely through retirements and attrition rather than layoffs. Some reductions included teaching positions, support staff time, and a decrease in after-school transportation runs, though no staff were cut directly.
Tripp said that RSU 25 continues to operate at a lower cost per pupil than surrounding districts—about $15,800 per student compared to a state average significantly higher—while maintaining comparable or better programming.
“We have to be careful when we're cutting that we don't get...into the real meat of our programming,” Tripp said.
Overall, Tripp framed the budget as a careful balancing act between preserving educational quality and responding to reduced state support and increasing local cost responsibility.
He noted that if anticipated state legislation on regional funding allocation passes, RSU 25 could see a significant financial benefit—potentially around $700,000 in additional revenue—compared to the current projected shortfall.
He also said a new state mandate requiring school districts to provide special education services (FAPE) for three- and four-year-olds beginning in the near future. Tripp said that RSU 25 will join an early implementation cohort and already has some infrastructure in place through a partnership with the local Head Start programs. He said the district will be required to provide these services but will be fully reimbursed by the state, meaning it should not create a negative financial impact and may even provide a small administrative benefit by allowing some staff costs to be billed back.
Reviewing recreation partnerships and waterfront infrastructure
The town’s draft recreation department budget recreation currently shows an increase of about 3%. It includes both recreation programs and waterfront operations, and focuses largely on staffing changes and a potential restructuring of the town’s partnership with the Down East Family YMCA—which operates the Tim Emery Municipal Pool and provides year-round youth programming.
Town officials said the partnership with the YMCA is currently valued at about $164,000.
“We really value the partnership that we've had in Bucksport,” said DEFY CEO Matt Montgomery. “It's transformed our organization. It's allowed us to reach many more families.”
Still, he acknowledged the financial pressures facing both the town and his organization. “We want to remain here,” he said. “But we definitely have work that we need to do to be able to do that.”
The draft waterfront budget, which includes the waterfront walkway and marina facilities, shows significant structural changes. The budget shows a roughly 50% decrease, largely due to the removal and reassignment of staffing costs rather than service reductions. Three seasonal summer staff positions have been eliminated, along with stipends for the harbor master and deputy harbor master.
Difficult decisions regarding public works positions
Town manager Jacob Gran outlined several budget increase scenarios based on potential staffing changes, including eliminating the highway director position and reducing transfer station staff.
Depending on the combination of cuts, the municipal budget increase ranges from 2.57% to 4.39%, with total increases (including school and county) between 5.21% and 6.09%. Estimated tax impacts for a $350,000 home range from about $282 to $330 annually.
All scenarios include approval of $100,000 towards paving, with a focus on repairs to Park Street.
The council supported retaining the highway director position, sunsetting the highway laborer position and keeping the transfer station at two full-time employees. The increase in that scenario would be 4.39%. Town staff will use that recommendation when creating the next iteration of the draft budget, which will be reviewed during upcoming council meeting.
The final municipal budget is expected to go before the council for a vote in June.
