You have to wonder what Maine’s municipalities did to irritate Gov. Paul LePage. He is, after all, a former mayor himself and certainly understands the way local communities depend upon revenue sharing. Mayors and municipal managers around the state must have been shocked Friday when the governor’s staff proposed a two-year suspension of that program […]
budget
Posted inMaine, sj-web
LePage to announce repayment plan for $186 million owed to hospitals
AUGUSTA — Gov. Paul LePage will unveil a plan Tuesday afternoon to pay $186 million the state owes in back payments to hospitals. The governor will release his proposal during an event at the University of New England’s dental school, which is under construction on Stevens Avenue in Portland. Maine’s 39 hospitals are owed $484 […]
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Posted inLewiston-Auburn, Maine, sj-web
LePage proposal punches holes in Twin Cities’ budgets
LEWISTON — State cuts to municipal revenue-sharing would hurt Twin Cities’ residents by either cutting their services or requiring a property tax hike. Lewiston City Administrator Ed Barrett said state revenue-sharing accounts for about $4 million of the city’s $44 million municipal budget. Losing that revenue would be severe, triggering tax increases or steep budget […]
Posted inOur View
Budget work can not be done under threat
Cheers to school administrators across Maine for pulling up their sleeves, sharpening their pencils and whittling budgets to meet the expectation of less school funding as the state braces for curtailment cuts. It wasn’t easy and it wasn’t painless. And, it was a chore done with great concern but little complaint. That’s an admirable attitude […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Maine lawmakers await Gov. LePage budget proposal
AUGUSTA — Maine lawmakers and lobbyists were bracing Friday morning as they awaited Republican Gov. Paul LePage’s next two-year budget proposal. LePage is also expected to make recommendations for a supplemental budget that will be aimed at balancing the state’s current budget, which is approximately $35 million in the red. The state’s constitution requires lawmakers […]
Posted inMaine
Lawmakers get closer look at governor’s spending cuts
AUGUSTA — State budget-writers got a deeper look Thursday at the impact of $35.5 million in short-term cuts on the lives of thousands of Mainers. For example, the State of Maine, the training ship for Maine Maritime Academy, may be left adrift longer, the academy’s chief financial officer told the Legislature’s Appropriations and Financial Affairs […]
Posted inAdvertiser Democrat, Oxford Hills
Round table leader: Work together on SAD 17 budget
PARIS — Board of Selectmen Chairman Sam Elliot said this week that everyone will have to work together to solve the growing school funding situation in Oxford Hills. The remark comes several weeks after he refused to recognize the chairman of the Oxford Hills School District Board of Directors at a round table of selectmen […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Legislature to tackle budget cuts, energy, education
AUGUSTA — Education, energy and domestic violence are at the top of Republican Gov. Paul LePage’s agenda as Maine lawmakers prepare to return to work, while jobs and strengthening the state’s economy are the buzzwords for majority Democrats. But whatever items are on their want list, the state budget is bound to be a priority […]
Posted inMaine
State lawmakers wade into budget’s red ink
AUGUSTA — The temporary budget cuts ordered by Gov. Paul LePage in December will reduce services, delay hiring of state workers, eliminate grant funding for some college students and cancel some contracted services. State lawmakers got their first look Friday at how a $35.5 million state budget curtailment order is going to affect people, as […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
LePage’s cutback order brings Appropriations Committee back early
AUGUSTA (AP) — Four days before the House and Senate are scheduled to return to the State House to get down to business for the 2013 session, the Appropriations Committee will be reporting for duty Friday — at leaders’ request. On its agenda is a $35.5 million curtailment order signed a week ago by Gov. […]