LEBANON — Residents painted a grim picture of the future if the City Council approves a proposed 11.9% tax rate increase for 2025.

Packed into the City Council Chambers and online for nearly four hours of discussion during a Wednesday night City Council meeting, residents demanded that the council creatively cut the budget, while preserving services. Those who spoke said they fear having to move out of the city, do not feel heard or valued by the City Council, and attributed the rising costs to long-time mismanagement of city funds.

“Without a doubt this is the worst situation I’ve seen to date,” said Brendan Collins, who has lived in Lebanon for over 50 years.

Collins said there were better ways to decrease the proposed budget than the options before City Council, which include cuts to the library and recreation, arts and parks programs.

“Don’t cut the library and don’t cut these little kid programs. Cut a cop, cut a road, cut a capital improvement, cut something else. Don’t rip everybody’s heart out here in Lebanon,” Collins said.

Wednesday’s meeting was community members’ first opportunity to share feedback and questions about the proposed 2025 municipal budget of $93.9 million.

There will be a special meeting for councilors to discuss the budget next Thursday, at 7 p.m., and a second public hearing before the City Council approves the final budget on Dec. 18 at 6 p.m. Both meetings will be held in combined council chambers and meeting room one at City Hall.

Even City Manager Shaun Mulholland, who recommended the budget to the City Council, said he does not expect the council to adopt the proposal “because it’s not sustainable year after year.”

Mulholland also prepared two alternate budgets that would represent either a 3.8% or 7% tax rate increase for 2025. Mulholland projects annual tax rate increases will continue to exceed 10% through 2028 to maintain the same level of city service with standard wage and benefits increases and cover debt service.

Collins was not optimistic that the city’s budget problems could be fixed. He was one of many residents who said the high tax rates would drive him out of the city.

“I don’t think you have the will or the heart to change, so I’ve elected to sell my house and put Lebanon in my rearview mirror,” Collins said.

Similarly, Eric Streit, who has five children and has lived in Lebanon for 11 years, emphasized how much he and his family “love it here” but said, “I can’t afford to raise a family if my taxes are double in five years.”

One of Streit’s concerns, echoed by other community members, was that if residents cannot afford to live in the city, property values will plummet as many people try to sell homes and taxes remain high. “That was the very first thought I had,” Streit said.

Residents’ suggestions to cut costs include reducing city salary and wage increases. For 2025, all city employees can expect a general wage increase of 3% with some receiving an additional “step” increase of up to 3%, according to materials prepared for Wednesday’s meeting. City policy states that employees receive between a 1% and 3% general wage increase every year based on the consumer price index and many salaries are set through collective bargaining agreements.

Other suggestions focused on reevaluating some capital improvement projects, and shifting the focus of infrastructure projects and social services to benefit only Lebanon residents. Many residents said they feel the city is being asked to support the entire region and to solve statewide problems, especially through its commitment to addressing the housing shortage and distributing social services.

“It should not be up to Lebanon taxpayers to fix the housing situation in our region. ...Your checkbook is not the city’s checkbook, it’s our checkbook,” Lori Key, a 41-year resident, said.

Susan Kellogg, who has lived in the city for 35 years, was one of many who attributed the tax rate increase to the city’s financial management practices over time, including taking on debt for capital improvement projects.

When Kellogg first purchased her home in Lebanon, she said she budgeted to pay off her mortgage by the time she reached retirement age so that she could stay in Lebanon “as long as possible.” Now, she said she is “angry because I feel that I have been very fiscally responsible and I’m having my life impacted by what I feel has been irresponsible budget and city financial management.”

Kellogg recommended that the City Council consider capping tax rate increases in line with annual Social Security payment increases, which are based on the cost of living. For 2025, the increase is 2.5%.

While it was clear that residents do not support the city’s budget increase, most also do not support cutting programs that several said benefit low-income residents and families.

If the city chooses to pursue a lower tax rate increase, some of the proposed budget cuts would decrease library programming and hours, and lead to the closure of the public pool.

Dominic Calandrella, a Lebanon teenager and one of a handful of younger residents who spoke Wednesday, said the pool offers lower rates for swim lessons and pool access than other regional resources.

Closing the pool, where he has worked for the past three summers, “takes away a reliable resource where parents can leave their kids knowing they are safe, outside and enjoying themselves,” Calendrella said. “In an age where TVs and iPads dominate summers, the pool is something that keeps our community’s kids and families outside.”

For its part, the library is especially important for families involved in the foster care system, who often use the space for visitation, Katie O’Nell said.

“Can you think of a single other place in Leb that is free to use, protected from the weather and full of engaging educational materials?” O’Nell asked the City Council.

As a general practice, many residents urged the City Council to consider the necessity of capital improvement projects more thoroughly in the future and to think about how they can support residents living in Lebanon now, not those who may live in the city in the future. Debt service for past and ongoing capital improvement projects is a major driver of the budget increase.

Several encouraged the council to pay off existing debt before taking on more and to eliminate some projects that they say are not entirely necessary, such as a roundabout scheduled to be built at the intersection of Mechanic, High and Mascoma Streets next spring.

“The long story short here is that taxpayers are losing trust in the City Council and your ability to prioritize the best interests of our community,” said Joshua Flanders, who requested the council freeze hiring in all departments except for emergency services.

Clare Shanahan can be reached at cshanahan@vnews.com or 603-727-3216.