Bar Harbor Town Council Moves Budget Forward After Multiple MDI YMCA Votes
Friedmann's Local Option Sales Tax Heads to Public Hearing March 12
The Bar Harbor Story is generously sponsored by Andy’s Home Improvement Inc.
BAR HARBOR—The Bar Harbor Town Council tentatively accepted the budget that would begin in July 2026, but first it went through a series of votes that focused on how much to fund the MDI YMCA.
“I would like to fund (it) at the full level, but I am concerned about the cost to the citizens of our town. There are a lot of people that use the Y, but there are a lot of citizens that don’t use the Y also,” Councilor Joe Minutolo said during discussion, “but I am concerned about what’s going on with tariffs and I think their energy costs are going to go up and I’m worried about the pool, which I think is hugely important for this town.”
The MDI YMCA’s funding request from the town was for $200,000.
The discussion began with Councilor Matthew Hochman saying he was in favor of $175,000. The warrant committee had recommended $154,500, roughly a 3% increase. In FY2024, the town had funded it at $107,000.
“Once you start getting into that atmosphere,” that the relationship needs to be examined, including the YMCA’s memorandum of understanding with the town. This year, Hochman said, the town should look at what the relationship is with the agency and see what the appropriate level is.
Though it was not mentioned at the council meeting, the Bar Harbor School Committee is trying to re-engage with its afterschool bus service that brings students from the school to the YMCA. Because that service is no longer being provided by the YMCA, the school has had issues with bus routes and overcrowding on afternoon busses.
Hochman’s motion failed 1-6, with Hochman the sole vote vote in favor. Councilor Earl Brechlin then motioned $154,500, which was the amount suggested by the town’s warrant committee.
“As a former Warrant Committee member, I really appreciate the work that they do, and I think their conversations are very in-depth,” Councilor Meagan Kelly said. “Part of me wants to fund the Y fully, but I do want to listen to the Warrant Committee on this.”
Council Chair Valerie Peacock, however, said she’d like to see full funding for the YMCA.
“They do a lot for this community,” she said. “I use the Y and it’s full.”
Brechlin’s motion failed 4-3 with Brechlin, Kelly, and Randy Sprague voting in favor. Council Vice Chair Maya Caines, Hochman, Peacock, and Minutolo voted against.
Caines said the YMCA was an important service to the town—a valuable third space and was in support of the full ask.
The next motion was for the full $200,000 ask. That failed as well with Brechlin, Kelly, Hochman, Minutolo, and Sprague voting against. Peacock and Caines voted for.
Minutolo then motioned $180,000.
“I have a hard time nitpicking over $20,000,” Caines said and stressed that the amount of money for the cooperating agencies was approximately $200 for the average taxpayer.
“It’s a forced donation. It’s not a donation by choice,” Hochman said, referencing a comment that occurred during a council workshop last week. “We just told the historical society no on their ask.”
Citing needs to maintain the town’s historic artifacts, records, maps, and a plethora of free community events, as well as anticipated decreased cruise ship visitation (tourists visit the museum on tours, paying entrance fees), the society had increased its ask from $2,500 to $75,000.
“We’re asking people to make an involuntary contribution. I can say yeah in a $25-million dollar budget, it’s not a lot of money, but it’s not our money,” Brechlin said of the YMCA increase.
Brechlin, Caines, and Peacock voted against the $180,000, which passed with Hochman, Kelly, Minutolo and Sprague voting in favor. It is an increase of $30,000.
After the council’s March 18 meeting, the warrant committee will consider that number and vote to recommend or not.
BUDGET ADJUSTMENTS
Prior to sending the budget to public hearing, the councilors passed multiple resolutions.
The first adjustment dealt with an update to the town assessments and state school subsidy. Those numbers were adjusted according to the state. The high school budget is not finalized yet. That has to be voted in on April 9 by town voters. Last year, it was approved by just 11 registered voters, only one was not a member of a school board or employee of the school system.
The council unanimously approved the net amount raised by property tax up an additional $55,517. The change came from a $90,000 in the Conners Emerson School budget thanks to an increased state subsidy, an expected $181,713 increased Mount Desert Island High School assessment, and a $36,196 decreased county assessment.
The council then unanimously replaced the funding for Island Explorer bus system. This was also recommended by the town’s warrant committee. It returns $69,106 to the Island Explorer’s total funding. The money had been removed initially because of decreased cruise ship revenue. The money is now coming from the parking fund, much like the majority of the free bus system’s town funding.
Finally, the councilors adjusted the outside agency funding. The first option was a 3% across the board increase for all agencies. The second option was full funding for most of the asks. However, three lines were discussed in informal conversation. Those included the Bar Harbor Historical Society, Northern Light Home Care, and the previously mentioned MDI YMCA.
Brechlin recused himself from the Bar Harbor Historical Society discussion because he is on the nonprofit’s development committee and had been previously on the board.
The warrant committee had recommended a flat funding at $2,500. The society had requested its funding be increased to $75,000. The council decided on $5,000.
Kelly said the society shouldn’t be penalized for asking for a larger amount. The motion for $5,000 passed unanimously.
“In a perfect year where we didn’t have infrastructure bonds, school bonds, it might have been easier to give what they asked for … but this is a good option for us to show our support in a fiscally responsible way,” Hochman said of the society’s request.
Northern Light Home Care was recommended at $6,086 by the warrant committee. Caines thought the reasoning the agency gave mattered and she was in support of the full $8,172 that was requested. It passed unanimously.
Current projections see property taxes covering approximately $28,241,495 of the town’s budget.
LICENSES AND PERMITS
Special amusement permits were granted to Atlantic Brewing Midtown, Atlantic Brewing/Mainely Meat BBQ, and Side Street Café. There was no public comment on any of the requests nor any comments from the councilors.
LOCAL OPTIONS TAX
Brechlin and Hochman both spoke in favor of former councilor and current Maine State Representative Gary Friedmann’s (D-Bar Harbor) proposed local options tax.
The state legislature's taxation committee will hear testimony Wednesday, March 12, on, LD746, "An Act to Authorize a Local Option Sales Tax on Short-term Lodging to Fund Municipalities and Affordable Housing."
Peacock said that the council did pass a resolution (Bar Harbor Town Council Resolve 2025-01-03: Resolve, support legislation for a local option lodging tax to reduce dependency on property taxes by municipalities) in favor of that effort, which allows Town Manager James Smith to testify on the council’s behalf.
The bill is also sponsored by:
Senator Michael Tipping, D - Penobscot
Speaker Ryan D. Fecteau, D - Biddeford
Representative Daniel Sayre, D - Kennebunk
Representative D. Michael Ray, D - Lincolnville
During public comment, Mary Galperin thanked the council and town for passing a resolution in support of a local option lodging tax and for having Smith testify about the bill in Augusta on March 12.
Randy Sprague said he drove by Glen Mary and saw all the ice. “I don’t know why the gate can’t be opened and let kids skate if they wanted.” He said it was sad to see that going to waste.
Committee hearing on local option sales tax information
LD746 bill tracking page: includes link to full text, actions so far, and committee hearing details.
Disclosure: The Bar Harbor Story’s Shaun Farrar is an elected member of the warrant committee. Because of that, he hasn’t proofread this article. Please be kind if I have a lot of typos. We are just a team of two over here on the best of days. Also, let me add the disclosure that I did last year: Although we are married, we do not always think the same way on all things and we have entirely different brains. Our daughter worked full-time, for less than a year, for the Bar Harbor Historical Society before she deployed. Shaun recuses himself from votes about the society and discussions about it as well.
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