LEWISTON — Road repairs and other capital spending would be sacrificed to keep property-tax increases to a minimum, City Administrator Ed Barrett said Tuesday.

“A lot of this looks pretty familiar,” Barrett said. “We are talking about the fiscal climate we are in and the budget is a slight modification of what we’ve faced in the last few years. This time is one of the most challenging we’ve had in recent history.”

Barrett sketched out a budget that sacrifices many capital expenditures and new programs but still raises property taxes by 4.4 percent. That amounts to a $1.15 per $1,000 of property value, or $168 more on a home valued at $150,000.

“That assumes those homes get their Homestead Exemptions,” Barrett said.

That’s not a given, Barrett said. Cuts to the Homestead Exemption, shifts of General Assistance to the cities and suspensions of state-shared revenue to municipalities are all being considered at the state level.

Barrett said those changes all factor into the budget he presented Tuesday night.

“We basically asked the departments what they need,” Barrett said. “We then try to balance what they’ve asked for with what we think is a reasonable starting point for the budget process.”

For example, department heads asked for $418,000 in new programs, including four new employees, training, software and funding for spring cleanup in 2014. None made the cut in Barrett’s recommended budget.

Department heads also asked for about $3.3 million in capital spending. Barrett’s budget calls for about $1.3 million, cutting half of the crack-sealing budget, new vehicles, new wiring for Lisbon Street streetlights, work on a Lincoln Street bridge, City Hall building maintenance, some computer systems projects and many road projects.

“For example, Dave Jones and the Public Works Department would like to do about $900,000 worth of street overlay,” Barrett said.

The city is recommending about half of that.

“Are we doing enough? No. Could we do more? Yes,” Barrett said. “But how far do you want to push it? How do you balance the tax rate against conditions of the street?”

Councilors will begin their twice-weekly budget review workshops on April 4.

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