By Dave Dyer

Staff Writer

 Scarborough Town Councilors unanimously authorized $200,000 for the Scarborough Public Library to make repairs to the building. The new amount will be added to the already approved $178,000 for a total of $378,000 in project costs.

     During the Oct. 1 meeting, Councilor Ron Ahlquist, who is seeking reelection next month, said the finance committee met before the town council meeting, and both the committee and representatives of the library agreed on the amount and “made both sides happy.”

  Ahlquist said the first priority will be to replace windows, along with the sills and the trim. The new windows will be weatherized to help make the building energy efficient.

  Ahlquist said exterior bricks on the building are also in bad shape and in need of repair. Both sides agreed the sign at the entrance of the building needs to be replaced. Ahlquist said the current sign is leaning and a hazard to pedestrians.

  Ahlquist said both sides also agreed to interior repairs, including remodeling walls and updating workstations for employees. Ahlquist said the current workstations are in “poor condition.” Ahlquist said he would like to see the amount for the interior work to be looked at again, and with adjustments.

  The interior portion is projected to cost $118,000, which is $45,000 less than the original amount.

  Ahlquist said the library agreed to hold off on overflow parking and sidewalk work, dropping the overall cost of the entire project from $423,000 to $378,000.

 Councilor Michael Wood said it is important for people to know the current windows and sills are leaking water and with replacement, it will be “exponentially more efficient, but also keep water out.” 

  In other business, the town council unanimously approved a request for a one-time exemption of $139,000 added to the property tax limit for the 2009 fiscal year. 

   According to the Maine Equal Justice Partners, LD 1, passed in 2005, caps the annual spending of state, county and municipal governments. 

  Under the state cap, spending cannot grow faster than the increase in per capita income plus the increase in the population over a ten-year average.  

 Scarborough Town Manger Ron Owens said he did not anticipate being over, but with the 10.5 percent increase to the fire department budget, a 6.5 percent increase to the police department budget, and a net debt service increase of 4.6 percent, it all added into the amount of money being over the spending cap.

   “Under the state law, the cap of the tax levy comes from the income gross of the state, and the property gross of the town,” Owens said. “Add it together, and you get the tax cap. For the town of Scarborough this year the cap was $12.4 million. Because of the rise in the public safety budgets, it will now be $12.5 million. It will hit the taxpayers a bit, because we are $100,000 over, but we did keep it under the councilors’ goal of a 3 percent tax rate. In the grand scheme of things, $100,000 to a $12.4 million cap is not a large amount. The law states the council has to acknowledge the fact we went over the tax cap, and that’s what we discussed and acknowledged at the meeting.”

  Owens said the increase in the public safety budget was needed.

  “We added four full time firefighter/EMTs, and two full time police officers,” Owens said. “The town of Scarborough is growing, and with that growth we need more public safety. We would like to continue the addition of full time firefighters and policeman each year, two for each next year, but this was our biggest year of addition.”

  Councilors noted the estimation of the town’s total value is currently at $3.4 billion.