LISBON —Karen Stevens has lived in Lisbon since 1986. She loves the community and the people living here, but she is afraid she may be forced to move if municipal taxes are as high as projected.

“Our motto is, ‘We are Lisbon,'” Stevens told the Town Council last week. “We are not Freeport. We are not Yarmouth. We are not Cumberland. We are not Lewiston or Auburn. We are Lisbon and Lisbon is asking you guys to listen to us. To pay attention to what we are saying. We’re pleading with you.”

Stevens spoke for many residents who packed the room May 27 during the Town Council budget workshop, upset at the more than 11% increase in the proposed municipal budget, a hike worsened by an error made last year by town officials.

Officials were forced to set up an overflow room to provide enough space for the dozens who attended.

Twenty residents spoke for nearly an hour, giving the council an earful on their dissatisfaction with the proposed budget. Originally coming with more than a 20% increase, Town Manager Glenn Michalowski has whittled it to approximately 11.2%.

An accounting error of $1.3 million has placed the town in a huge financial hole. Officials used money from the unassigned fund balance to cover the deficit, but also used an additional $500,000 from that account. Auditor Ron Smith chastised the town for numerous arithmetic errors. He determined that the town actually used $2.9 million from the fund balance, leaving the town at a dangerously low level.

Using that fund to help offset taxes is not possible this year, officials said.

Several residents told councilors to cut staff, claiming the workforce is bloated and top heavy. Others said the town would eventually go bankrupt and become a ghost town, with residents unable to sell their homes.

“We’re not going to be Lisbon anymore if taxes keep going up,” Stevens said. “There is not going to be a Lisbon. Nobody will be able to sell their houses. Nobody is going to get income or businesses to come to Lisbon. People are going to walk away, and their homes, their livelihood are going to be affected. There are going to foreclosures, forfeitures.”

“We can’t afford this,” Lisa Woodcock said. “You guys need to freeze whatever doesn’t need to be done. We need to get back to where we can afford to live here.”

Residents told the council that they understood that it had a difficult job ahead to help lower the tax rate. In addition to cutting staff and services, town leaders should consider selling town property, such as Graziano Square, the Worumbo Riverfront Event Center where the Worumbo Mill once stood, and possibly Beaver Park, they said.

“The people of this town have been on a roller coaster for a while, but they haven’t realized it because we’ve absorbed it with the unassigned fund balance for so long,” Vice Chairman Chris Camire said. “It’s a weird way of saying in, but as a town we’ve become accustomed to a certain lifestyle. There’s nothing wrong with that lifestyle. We have a lot of great things about this town, but we’re coming to a breaking point.”

“Each year we actually have expenditures go up if we do nothing, if we fix no roads, we do nothing new,” Chairman Fern Larochelle said. “The schools are up roughly $600,000 to $800,000. The municipality is up $300,000 to $400,000. So, you’re at $1.2 million in increases and expenditures every year. Without doing anything at all. You add in the county, you add up the other expenses that we have no control with at all. Those numbers don’t go away.”

“Using the rainy-day fund is how we got here, and we all know it,” Councilor Norm Albert said.

Councilor Nick Craig appeared to be one of the few willing to look at staffing cuts, saying he would be in favor of eliminating the cost-of-living allowance if no staffing cuts are made. If cuts to staff are made, he would support the cost-of-living adjustment.

Michalowski, who is still scrutinizing the budget to determine what could possibly get cut, pleaded with the board to provide him with some guidance.

“It would be helpful to understand what are your priorities,” Michalowski said. “What does the consolidation of a department look like? Is reduced hours at the transfer station something you’d rather see versus public safety?

“If you want to see staff reductions, tell me which department to prioritize and where you want to see service reductions.”

The council is expected to finalize the budget in early June.