City Hall·Presque Isle City of Presque Isle
Presque Isle council reviews library, airport, fire budgets in workshop
The Presque Isle City Council held the first night of its 2026 budget workshop, hearing presentations from the library, assessing, airport, economic development, finance, fire, and general government departments. Department heads walked through mostly modest changes, with the library seeking a 4.29% overall increase and the airport reporting a smaller budget driven by lower fuel sales. No votes were taken, and the workshop continues the following evening.
Key points
- Library Director presented a 4.29% overall budget increase, including a 61.5% jump in fuel costs and a $2,000 increase to the collections budget; councilors praised the department's stewardship.
- Assessing Department reported an almost unchanged expense budget, with revenue down after parting ways with Madawaska; the department remains about $50,000 in the black.
- Airport Manager said the airport budget is smaller this year, mainly due to lower general aviation fuel sales, and remains self-funded rather than supported by the tax bill.
- Economic development plans to shift how it measures success, tracking private investment, tax-based growth, property activation, and permitting efficiency; the director position will be funded through the TIF.
- Fire Department discussed a proposed $10,000 per diem line to offset overtime and floated contracting with a collection agency to bill insurers for specialized services like rescue tool use, which would require an ordinance.
- General government was described as a maintenance-of-effort budget, with the grant writer moved to its own section and the community outreach coordinator's placement still undecided.
Next steps
- Budget workshops continue the next evening with police, public works, utilities, parking, parks, solid waste, and the industrial complex.
- Fire officials plan to bring the council more information on an ordinance and fee schedule for billing insurers for specialized services.
- Staff will continue working out where the community outreach coordinator position belongs in the budget.
Where this came from
City of Presque Isle YouTube
The summary and transcript were made by software from the public meeting video, with names checked against the official roster, then reviewed before publishing.
Watch the meeting ↗The summary and transcript were made by software from the public meeting video, with names checked against the official roster, then reviewed before publishing.