Question 1: How has the Portland budget changed over the past few years?
The fiscal year 2026 budget that Portland passed this week calls for $528.4 million in spending between the city and the school.
We went back five years to the fiscal year 2021 budget: $376.8 million in spending. So in five years, the budget has increased 40%! Inflation in that time was only 24%.
And the city’s population hasn’t changed much in that time. 68,313 people in 2021 and 69,201 now.
Question 2: Is that similar to other Maine cities?
Auburn: 40% budget increase in last five years
Question 3: What accounts for the spending increases?
Portland and Auburn are spending more on debt service than they were five years ago.
Portland spent $45 million paying off debt in 2021 but will spend $60 million next year. Auburn’s debt service more than doubled from $11 million to $24 million. Again, both of those cities’ debt expenses are increasing faster than inflation.
Lewiston actually decreased their annual debt expense from $9 million to $7 million, so it is doable.
And then there’s the payroll increases. At least 140 people made six figures in Portland last year, but the city still hasn’t sent us all the data we requested in January, so there might be more than that. In 2021 there were only 39 people making that much.
Question 4: What solutions have been proposed?
Right now the state gives 5% of revenue from sales, income and corporate taxes to local governments.
State Sen. Joe Baldacci, a Bangor Democrat, introduced a bill earlier this year to increase that to 6%.
But the state is already dealing with its own budget deficit of $450 million for the next two years.
Baldacci also has a bill that would allow the state to reimburse cities for 90% of general assistance spending that helps families meet basic needs like food and housing. Right now the reimbursement is 70%.
There’s lots of similar situations around the country. Los Angeles has a $1 billion deficit and wants California to help bail them out, but the state has its own $12 billion deficit.
But even if cities get bailed out this year, there’s a long term solution needed to curb the spending and stop taxes from increasing to an unsustainable amount.