Portsmouth council provisionally approves $79.17 million FY27 budget and sets tax rate

The Portsmouth Town Council provisionally approved the town’s fiscal year 2027 budget, $79,166,565, following the third night of budget hearings on April 29. Council members voted to set a levy of $67,218,115 and a real‑estate tax rate of $9.837 per $1,000 in assessed value, with final adoption scheduled after a public hearing in June.

Town finance staff presented line‑by‑line changes and follow‑up pages reflecting votes from the prior evening. Mr. Rener said staff moved $18,555 out of harbor‑master boat lines into a police boat reserve and added the same total across police budget lines, bringing the police bottom line to $8,530,224. The council provisionally approved department budgets across public safety, administration and public works after brief questions and motions on multiple line items.

The budget package includes $2,654,520 for town and school debt service — roughly a 6% decrease from the current year — and an FY27 capital improvement plan of $847,941 to address deferred DPW equipment, Glen Manor House repairs and recreation facility improvements. Councilors voted to provisionally encumber $162,000 in local funds specifically earmarked to match a pending congressional grant application to demolish the Kagashaw school and build a baseball field if the grant is approved.

On enterprise funds, the council provisionally approved a $798,436 transfer‑station budget and set the annual transfer‑station sticker at $325. The curbside collection enterprise fund was provisionally approved under the option that keeps the existing sticker model (no immediate pay‑as‑you‑throw bag requirement) with a sticker price set at $64.

Councilors repeatedly emphasized that the approvals are provisional and that several items — including civic‑support allocations, Prudence Island Foundation reporting and enterprise fund details — will be revisited during budget adoption hearings in June. The meeting concluded with directions to staff to supply additional documentation requested by councilors and a cancellation of the next scheduled meeting.

The council will hold a public hearing in June before the June adoption vote. Until then, line items discussed tonight remain subject to change as staff provides requested follow‑ups and councilors refine allocations.