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Severity: critical · Category: taxes · Last updated: May 3, 2026 · Dollar amount: 9.54 vs 9.49
Two official district documents give different numbers for the same fact. Q&A Q55 (February 27, 2026) states the FY26 actual mill rate was 9.54. The Town/School Joint Workshop slides (April 28, 2026) state the FY26 actual was 9.49. Both numbers are preserved here so the public can see the full forensic record.
FORENSIC TIMELINE
February 27, 2026 — Q&A Q55 answer (Heather Perry, in writing): 'If you want to fill in the most recent mil from FY 26 it would be the actual mil wound up being 9.54, which was a decrease of .30.'
April 28, 2026 — Joint Town Council / School Committee Workshop, slide deck historical mill rate table: • FY 26: projected 9.84, actual 9.49 • FY 25: projected 9.59, actual 9.54
Two official district documents give different FY26 actual mill rates (9.54 vs 9.49). The discrepancy has not been reconciled and affects every taxpayer-impact figure derived from the FY26 baseline.
Document: Budget Workshop Q&A (Feb 27, 2026) + Town/School Joint Workshop Slides (Apr 28, 2026)
Reference: Q&A Question 55 (Heather Perry written answer, Feb 27, 2026) · Joint Workshop Slide Deck, April 28, 2026 — Historical Mill Rate Table (slide showing FY25/FY26 actual rates)
Q&A: School Committee Q&A Document (gorhamschools.org) — Q55
Asked: Q55 (originally Q43): Would it be possible to see a 5 (or 10?) year history looking at what we projected the mil rate impact to be during the time of the budget approval process, side by side to the actual mil rate impact for that year?
District answer: (Feb 27, 2026) The district stated the FY26 actual mill rate was 9.54 — a decrease of 0.30 from the approved 9.84. (Apr 28, 2026) The Joint Workshop slide deck instead lists the FY26 actual as 9.49 — and assigns 9.54 to FY25 actual. The two official answers conflict and no reconciliation has been published.
Analyst note: Per the Gorham Guardian rule of preserving the forensic timeline, both figures remain on the site. The Q&A answer (9.54) is preserved on Flag #3 because it was the official answer at the time the Q&A closed. The April 28 figure (9.49) is added as new data without overwriting. If the district publishes a reconciliation, that becomes a third entry on the timeline — never a replacement.