AUGUSTA — City councilors unanimously approved a $51.4 million city and school budget Thursday night, rejecting pleas to restore between $29,000 and $40,000 in funds to keep Bicentennial Nature Park open.

The budget is expected to increase city taxes by 1.46 percent. It’s just over 2 percent higher than the current year’s budget.

The budget closes Bicentennial Nature Park, a city-owned park on Three Cornered Pond.

Three residents, one of whom said she was speaking for many others unable to attend, urged councilors to restore funding for the park, saying it provides residents, especially children, with a safe and healthy place to relax. Some argued it’s needed more, not less, in times of economic difficulty.

Community Services Director Leif Dahlin said it would cost about $40,000 to open the park seven days a week for the summer, or $29,000 to open it four days a week, likely Thursday through Sunday.
Some councilors proposed restoring funding for the park but couldn’t convince a majority of their colleagues to do so.

After nearly two hours of debate, councilors voted 8-0 to approve the budget as proposed, without restoring funding for the park.