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Caribou City Manager
City of Caribou
25 High Street
Caribou, Maine 04736		 Steven R. Buck, City Manager
Phone: (207)493-3324
Menu Option #6
Fax: (207)498-3954
E-mail: manager@cariboumaine.org

The City Manager is appointed by a majority vote of the City Council for an indefinite term and is responsible for implementing policy established by the City Council as well as the administration of all City affairs. The Manager oversees and keeps the Council informed of the business, financial condition and future needs of the City.

Caribou City Manager Steven R. Buck was appointed by the City Council in June 2001. In addition to his day-to-day duties, Mr. Buck is the Superintendent of roads, parking lots, bridges and buildings and the purchasing agent for the City (with the exception of those buildings coming under the School Department, Cary Medical Center, Public Library and Jefferson Cary Hospital Fund). Mr. Buck serves as an Ex-Officio member of the Cary Medical Center, Caribou Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Tri-Community Landfill Boards of Directors. He also serves as the Fair Hearing Authority for all challenged General Assistance Administrator’s decisions and conducts fair hearings in accordance with applicable State laws.

City Manager’s Annual Report for 2006

A late season review of the calendar year 2006 finds the City in a strong financial position as indicated by the audited financials contained later in this report. Dynamic is the first word that comes to mind in reviewing the activity levels, changes in business conduct and mandates that effect the service provisions within the municipal government. The connectivity between all levels of service provisions, local, county and state continue to blur as the responsibilities and economic burden to provide these essential services increase. All levels of administration throughout the City strive to maintain a proactive approach and a focus on efficiencies and regional coordination to lessen this economic burden. There are no free means to provide for services, yet administration has become more focused on a best means of service provisions, not just consolidation. I believe this will be a recurring theme not just for 2006 but for 2007 and beyond. There are continued discussions of school consolidation and greater regional initiatives and Caribou will remain poised to capture these opportunities.

Please review the departmental reports contained in this year’s Annual Report for greater insight into the ongoing work being performed within our Community. I would also ask the reader to take the time to review the audited financials and especially the Management Discussion and Analysis in this Report. The City’s financial position is noteworthy given its proactive approach to capital improvements and the appropriations towards depreciable assets. Caribou has many unique approaches towards maintaining these assets, as many unique approaches as the department heads that manage the City’s assets. Caribou also maintains an aggressive posture towards further regionalization of services with the goal of economies of scale and higher service provisions than could be had singularly.

The single largest impact for 2006 was the culmination of not less than 5 years of discussions, feasibility studies, hours of public meetings and negotiations between the City and State that lead to the July 18th, 2006 referendum vote to construct a new gymnasium or wellness complex on Bennett Drive. Two questions were asked of the voters;

  • Shall the City authorize the construction of a gymnasium for the Caribou Recreation Department?
  • Shall the City execute a short term loan of not more than 5 years for the construction of a gymnasium having a principle amount not to exceed $1.76 million?
With an affirmative vote on both of these questions, the voters of Caribou decided to invest in the Community. While maintaining the existing assets exceptionally well, the City had not made a major infrastructure investment through a bond since the utilities line to the southerly end of the City some 27 years prior. The impact to the average home in Caribou having a Homestead Exemption was estimated to be $81.10 each of five years. At the time of writing this report, the revised estimated cost is $76.29 due to known construction cost savings and a favorable bid process for the Project financing. The Project is viewed as being multi-phase of not fewer than three major components; the first being the gymnasium, second additional program and locker space and the third an aquatic center. Future phases will be dependent upon the success of Phase I and the voter disposition when subsequent proposals are brought forward. I view this commitment towards our Community as significant. A City of people that inv ests in itself is a City of people that takes pride in their sense of Community and is willing to give of itself now for benefit of those to come.

Taxation for 2006 contained major impacts due to petroleum costs, employment costs and tax shifts created by the implementation of new State programs. Total municipal appropriations grew by 6.23%, the largest in recent history. However the City’s non-property tax revenue grew by over 8.47%. Combining these two factors with a strong transfer from prior year surplus produced a decrease in municipal appropriations by nearly 4%. This contributed towards a municipal mil rate decrease from 25.50 in 2005 to 24.50 for 2006. The trend in the allocation of each tax dollar paid for 2006 was 44.44˘ of each tax dollar that went towards municipal service provisions, while 64.52˘ came from non-property tax revenue. The School department consumes 50.23˘ of each tax dollar and the County consumes 5.33˘.

Please take the time to review the Management Discussion and Analysis or MDA as the key component of the new General Auditing Standards Board Statement No. 34 (GASB- 34) Audit. The reason for the new federally mandated format is to better relay to the public the financial summary of their public funds. The MDA should provide the reader a higher understanding of the major transactions of the City. The City is now fully compliant under GASB 34 and has gained further financial tools towards the maintenance of our major assets and infrastructure, the positive effect of which is reflected within the audited statements.

In reading this Annual Report, I encourage the reader to remain proactive in the governance of their Community. I hope as the reader we share a view point that we are bound by our sense of Community more so than our municipal boundaries and it is the collective qualities of our people that truly makes Caribou the best home town.

Submitted,
Steven R. Buck
City Manager,

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