Members of the Windham Town Council will review 2025-2026 proposed budget subtraction and additions during a meeting on April 23 and then listen to public comments about the budget during a public hearing on May 13.
Burns told councilors that town revenues for the next year are expected to be $18,224,864 which is up slightly from 2024-2025’s $18,083,104 and an overall increase of 0.78 percent.
“We’re projecting stable and increasing revenues for Windham,” Burns said.
According to Burns, town expenses will rise in 2025-2026 if this proposed budget is adopted by about 5.23 percent, going from $33,497,270 to $35,248,462.
He said that town overlay and TIF funding will remain the same as the previous town budget, leaving the overall estimated Windham Town Budget at $48,601,147. That’s a 3.4 percent increase from 2024-2025’s $46,991,715.
“We feel this budget fairly and accurately meets the needs of the town,” Burns said.
Tibbetts said the annual budget proposal is calculated based upon many different factors and influences, including slightly increased projected revenues, the town’s general operating budget and fixed expenses, insurance costs, contractual obligations, energy costs, debt expenditures and personnel changes.
Fixed expenses for the town included in the budget proposal take into account insurance costs, employee healthcare, contractual obligations for municipal organizations, long-term contracts, debt expenditures and wage adjustments.
Barring any significant changes to the proposed budget, Windham’s mil rate for tax purposes will rise from $11.47 to $11.74 which Tibbetts and Burns say is among the lowest of towns in Cumberland County.
Among items included in the proposed budget are funding to add a part-time General Assistance employee, a projected Cost of Living increase for municipal employees of 3.5 percent, and funding three potential projects including a new North Fire Station on Franklin Drive behind Hannaford Supermarket and across from Home Depot, renovation work to turn the current Windham Middle School into a community center for the town when it is vacated when construction is completed on the new Windham Raymond Middle School in 2027, and $1.5 million for acquiring land from Portland Water District for expansion of youth athletic fields at Gambo Park and building a new public ice rink and playground by the new North Windham Fire Station.
The existing North Windham Fire Station on Route 302 is more than five decades old, and has experienced electrical issues, heating and cooling problems, and insufficient crew space, as the building was not designed to accommodate round-the-clock fire department staffing. The new location would be much easier and safer for firefighters when answering calls for assistance.
The proposed budget also would include a four-year incremental bond for construction of the new Windham Raymond Middle School, the purchase of new radio equipment for first responders, creation of a pocket park at Forbes Lane, purchasing two new snowplow trucks, a new dump truck, and a digital sign for the Windham Central Fire Station. Other expenditures included in the proposed budget are $960,000 for continued roadwork and street maintenance, and $1,466,110 for town building and facilities improvements.
The budget proposal was reviewed by the town’s Finance Committee in March and was discussed again by town councilors on Tuesday evening. The council will hold a public hearing about the budget proposal on May 13 and final voting for the budget will be conducted during Windham’s annual Town Meeting on Saturday, June 14. <
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