LISBON — A petition drive has been started to change the town charter to allow residents the ability to vote on whether to pass or defeat the municipal budget.

Resident Charlie Turgeon is leading a committee of four in seeking enough signatures to place the question on the November ballot.

Currently, residents in Lisbon can only vote on the school budget. Final authority for the municipal budget is the Lisbon Council.

“Right now, the town can authorize and unilaterally pass a municipal budget without any vote,” Turgeon said. “They are currently looking at a $16 million municipal budget and an $8 million school budget, which is the reverse of how most towns operate and reverse of how we had always done things in Lisbon.”

Turgeon said he researched school budgets versus municipal budgets on the Maine Municipal Association website and discovered that nearly every town spends much more on schools than on the municipal side of things.

He claims that the municipal budget was only $4 million in 2022, compared to $16 million being proposed this year.

Town Manager Glenn Michalowski disputed Turgeon’s figures and said the town could face a significant budget cut if voters do not accept the budget before the July 1 deadline.

“Under the proposed referendum question, if the municipal budget is not approved or validated by July 1, the prior fiscal year’s municipal budget is automatically adopted with a 33% reduction in totality. This reduced budget remains in effect until a final municipal budget is approved by voters through a subsequent validation referendum.”

“While it would not be appropriate for me, as staff, to comment on the merits of any specific referendum or issue before the voters, I can speak to the operational implications of this provision,” Michalowski said.

“A temporary budget reduced by 33% would have a significant and immediate impact on municipal operations, likely resulting in major reductions in services, staffing, and the town’s ability to meet essential obligations.”

Michalowski disputed the $4 million figure Turgeon said was the budget for 2022. The budget listed on the town’s website supports Michalowski’s statement. In 2021, the town’s municipal budget was roughly $9 million, and by 2022 it had risen to approximately $10.4 million, according to the website.

It jumped to more than $13 million in 2023, largely due to a pay study that gave town employees wages and benefits more in line with neighboring communities, Michalowski said.

“Y22, a pay study was conducted as a result of an increase in employee turnover,” the town officials said in a statement issued back then. “An RFP went out for a third-party consulting firm, that specializes in this field, to compare our municipality to other similar municipalities in order to analyze the salaries and wages of the positions held at the town of Lisbon.

“The analysis of the data showed that the salaries and wages for a significant percentage of positions was under a certain market valuation. To focus in on employee retention and recruitment, this proposed budget shows an increase in salaries and benefits to pull the town of Lisbon up to a market value that is line with state averages,” according to the statement.

The $16 million budget as proposed for this year would result in approximately a 45% increase in taxes, Turgeon said.

Michalowski agreed. He said he and the Town Council are working to pare down the budget to a number significantly lower than that.

“There will likely be a tax increase,” Michalowski said, but said $2.7 million has already been cut from the budget with more cuts expected. He said he expects the budget to be finalized by April 8.

The school, county and water rate increases alone will require higher taxes, he added.

“They’re working to reduce that, but they are going to have a property tax increase regardless,” Turgeon said.

Turgeon said he needs to collect 670 signatures to put the question on the ballot. He said his group will be collecting signatures outside the polls during the referendum April 15 to reallocate funds for the Ferry Road project.