Bucksport grapples with possible moratorium on nonprofit funding
‘Taking away everything means it might never come back,’ says nonprofit head
March 25, 2026
By Emily Baer
BUCKSPORT—It was standing room only in the Bucksport town council chambers as councilors met to continue their budget discussion during a special budget workshop on March 19.
Town officials had previously begun discussing a draft budget on March 12 presented by town manager Jacob Gran, grappling with a challenging set of circumstances: rising property valuations, dwindling state aid, and the fallout from years of using one-time funds to artificially lower taxes.
As part of that discussion, councilors discussed a potential moratorium on third-party funding requests from community and social organizations like the Bucksport Senior Center, Buck Memorial Library, the Bucksport Area Childcare Center, the Bucksport Historical Society, and others.
The suggestion drew immediate concern from community leaders and residents, who then gathered on March 19 to issue a clear message to the council: Community social services are a vital funding priority, they said.
Next steps for social services agencies
Historically, community and social services organizations have been invited to submit applications for funding from the town. The applications, known as “third-party requests”, are submitted in January. Representatives then go before town council in April to present their cases and answer any potential questions from the councilors.
This year’s meeting is scheduled for April 2 and, with that in mind, councilors were under pressure to decide whether or not to hold that meeting. Councilor Tracey Hair said that if the council intended to impose a moratorium, nonprofit organizations should be alerted sooner rather than later so that they could plan and adjust.
“I don’t like that my taxes went up, that everything is going up. But I don’t want to live in a town that doesn’t have any community activities or paved roads.”
“The only decision that is being made this evening is if we’re having that meeting,” said mayor Paul Bissonette on Mar. 19. “I know there's been a lot of talk around funding [decisions] for certain things happening this evening and that is not the case.”
In response to the overwhelming public turnout, the town council announced it will hold a dedicated follow-up meeting on April 2, although Bisonette clarified that the meeting is strictly for presentations and information gathering.
"No decisions have been made yet regarding funding levels," Bisonette said, adding that no funding decisions will be made at the April meeting, either.
A scalpel and a chainsaw
Bill Foster, director of the Bucksport Senior Center, spoke during the meeting’s public comment session and acknowledged the need for budget cuts. Still, he voiced strong opposition toward a moratorium on social services funding.
“Taking away everything means it might never come back,” Foster said. “But it also [says] that these vital community [services] are not important, that they have no purpose here.”
“I don’t like that my taxes went up, that everything is going up,” he said. “But I don't want to live in a town that doesn't have any community activities or paved roads.”
Foster said he appreciated the difficult decisions that the council is faced with but urged council members to use both a “scalpel” and a “chainsaw” while considering budget cuts, noting that the budget line for social services’ funding is relatively small compared to others.
“One percent. That's what [social services agencies] are asking for,” Foster said. “There's a lot of other budgets that have a lot more.”
