HALLOWELL – Dozens of residents opposed to the Hallowell City Council’s recently passed budget and hefty property tax increase are collecting signatures on a petition calling for the budget to be revisited.

According to Kate Dufour, councilwoman and chair of the 1st District Finance Committee, the budget passed on July 29 called for a city property tax increase of about 20 percent. That’s more than the roughly 16 percent the council had anticipated when it passed the budget.

Clipboards are displayed with the new Hallowell petition to reverse a City Council vote on a new budget. A group of residents organized the petition drive after city taxes were increased by about 20 percent. Photo courtesy of Sarah McNaughton

According to Hallowell’s city charter, residents can submit a petition to force a city council decision to go to a citywide referendum. In order for the petition to be officially recognized by the city, it must be submitted with 240 verified signatures from city residents by Wednesday, August 28. A citywide election must be held within 60 days of the petition being submitted to the city to vote on the referendum, unless the city council reverses its decision on its own initiative, according to the charter.

The petition states: “We, the undersigned voters of the City of Hallowell, hereby request that the Hallowell City Council void the Hallowell City Council’s vote of Monday, July 29, 2024, on the third reading of Ordinance r24-02 adopting the FY25 municipal expenditure budget.”

Larry Davis, a former council member who planned to run for the 5th District seat in November, said he was “shocked” that the council approved the budget and tax increase. Shortly afterward, he began organizing a campaign to get the council to reconsider its vote.

The petition drive began Thursday, and by early Friday afternoon organizers had already collected more than a third of the required 240 signatures, Davis said.

“People are working feverishly, and I mean feverishly, to get those signatures,” Davis said. “I can’t tell you how many people I’ve talked to who were shocked – and there are many more who didn’t know anything – when they got their tax bills.”

Tax bills are calculated based on the city’s tax rate of $19.90 per $1,000 of assessed property value, a rate that actually decreased from last year to $23.05 per $1,000.

Earlier this year, Dufour said, the city was informed that it was assessing properties in the city at 65 percent of their market value – less than the 70 percent required by law. The city then revised its assessment to 85 percent of market value, resulting in higher tax bills.

She also noted that the budgets of the local school district and Kennebec County, both of which spent more this year than last year and both consume a significant portion of Hallowell’s revenue, affected what the council could do. The school budget is voted on by referendum, and the city council also has no control over the county budget but is required to contribute.

In total, the $8.98 million city tax budget includes a municipal budget of about $3.75 million (an increase of 7%), $3.98 million for the school system and $397,000 for the county.

The council also did not receive the property assessments to calculate its tax revenue until the last month of its budget process, complicating the final draft. But, Dufour said, the Finance Committee and City Council did their best given the situation and tried to keep the public as informed as possible through budget meetings and public hearings.

Dufour said she is open to revising the budget and that citizens’ opinions at upcoming council meetings will be important in deciding the council’s next steps – namely, which municipal services should be cut and which should be kept.

“We’re at a point where we’re hearing that this is an unacceptable increase,” she said. “And if that’s the case, what needs to go? What is the appropriate increase? Twenty percent is not it, I understand that, but what is the goal?”

The next Hallowell City Council meeting is scheduled for Monday at 6 p.m. in the council chambers at City Hall. Organizers said residents will be able to sign petitions at the meeting. Copies are also available at several downtown businesses, including Berry & Berry Floral, Quality Copy and Heads Up Hair Salon.

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