Staff Writer
HOULTON — Town councilors were presented with a rare budget shortfall during Monday night’s council meeting, which amounts to a total of $87,900 in funds to be transferred.
Town Manager Doug Hazlett presented the list of budget shortfalls for the 2007 fiscal year and explained that the items were “surprise events” and “things that couldn’t have been counted on.”
The town council will have an opportunity to discuss the transfer of $40,000 from the fund balance to the ambulance department, $38,000 to the fire department and $9,900 to the parks and recreation department during a public hearing on Dec. 10.
“In the case of the fire department, we have had a long-term employee who has been out on sick leave for the entire year and he had enough accumulated sick time that we were continuing to pay him sick time during that time period, while simultaneously having to fill his shift on an overtime basis,” explained Hazlett. “That same situation, believe it or not, occurred in Ambulance where he had a guy out that long. Secondly with ambulance, every year because of the number of runs being higher than anticipated, we end up spending more money, which of course is covered by additional revenue, that number is much smaller this year because we’ve become better at trying to make that budget realistic.”
Hazlett said the overrun in the park and recreation department account was due to a mechanical breakdown of the fire alarm system, which was about a $5,500 cost to repair. On top of that, he said it become clear that the town had under budgeted the cost of electricity for that facility for three years running. Hazlett also said normally, there is enough under spending in other categories that there never was an overdraft situation in parks and recs and they never had to worry about that because it never showed as going over budget on the bottom line.
“We’ve cut enough out of budget that the budget has become very realistic in terms of what our actual spending rate is,” explained Hazlett. “We don’t have that margin, there’s no cushion anymore. The concern is that’s true of the whole town budget.”
Hazlett said there is nothing about over drafting an individual department, but it is illegal to spend more than what the town authorizes, which is why the fund transfers are brought before the council.
“These were things that we hadn’t counted on,” he said. “How could you assume that you would have two employees out in two different departments for a whole year. No budget contemplates that.”
The public hearing will be held in council chambers during the regular meeting on Dec. 10.
