Bangor council hears airport, arena budget requests

The Bangor City Council held a budget workshop on May 28, hearing presentations from Bangor International Airport and the Cross Insurance Center. Airport officials outlined a roughly $28 million enterprise fund budget and requested a new assistant director position, while arena staff described capital needs including carpet and boiler replacement. Councilors also questioned how the city's ongoing revaluation affects this year's tax rate.

Key points

• Airport director presented a proposed FY2027 budget of about $28 million, describing it as relatively flat compared with prior years, and requested one additional fueling technician plus a new assistant airport director focused on finance and business development.
• Councilor Joseph Leonard said the airport should be part of a broader effort to diversify city revenue beyond property tax and asked that the topic be a priority at an upcoming joint meeting.
• Councilor Daniel Carson asked the airport to draft what an ideal airport commission would look like; the city manager said a follow-up on structure would come later.
• Cross Insurance Center staff said the venue's top capital priorities are replacing 14-year-old convention center carpet and a domestic water boiler, and noted rising utility costs in the proposed budget.
• Staff said the center loses convention business because of a lack of hotel space, and Councilor Leonard suggested the city may revisit a possible hotel project in executive session.
• Councilor Wayne Mallar asked for a legal opinion on whether the ongoing property revaluation affects this year's tax rate; the city manager said the current budget uses existing values and that the assessor will give an update Monday.

Next steps

• The city manager will prepare a revised tax rate calculator and an agenda of critical decisions (including new positions and major capital items) for two upcoming budget workshops.
• The assessor will give an update on the revaluation at Monday's finance meeting, and the city manager will flag Councilor Mallar's question about tax year and valuation.
• The city manager said a press release and social media posts will clarify that the June 8 first reading is a proposed, not adopted, budget.
• Airport officials will follow up with the city manager on possible airport commission or governance structure options.

Read the full transcript