Star City faces $187,000 fuel-related shortfall

Kathy McCarty, Special to The County
16 years ago
    PRESQUE ISLE, Maine – The city of Presque Isle is facing a $187,000 budget shortfall, contributed to ever-increasing fuel costs for heating oil, diesel and gasoline.
When City Council approved the 2008 budget in December, city officials estimated $230,000 would just about cover the city’s needs for the three types of fuel, based on an estimate of $3 per gallon for heating oil, diesel at $3.05 per gallon and gasoline at $2.75 per gallon.
Those figures proved to be way off the mark, as gasoline hovers around $4.19 per gallon for regular, heating oil averaged $4.71 per gallon, kerosene $5.11 per gallon and diesel averaged $4.833 per gallon in northern Maine according to information posted on June 23 at www.maineenergyinfo.com/energytrenddata.html.
City Manager Tom Stevens sought input from councilors on ways to address the overage at the June 16 Council session.
“When working on the budget, we underestimated (fuel costs),” Stevens said. “We had a budget of $3 per gallon for fuel oil, we’re currently paying around $4.26.”
Stevens said met with city officials about doing some “belt tightening.”
“I think we’ve gone beyond belt tightening,” Stevens told the Council.
Pat Webb, the city’s financial director, said she’s been working with Stevens to come up with a figure that would work for all involved.
“I worked with Tom to come up with a figure we’d need to fulfill the budget. It comes up to about $187,000,” said Webb.
Council Chair Walt Elish said it was a hard fact to face.
“It’s not a pretty picture (for the city’s budget and taxpayers),” said Elish.
“No it isn’t,” replied Webb. “Figures are based on what we estimate fuel prices to be the rest of the year.”
Councilor Calvin Hall said it wasn’t so much a financial question but one of how best to reduce consumption.
“It’s one thing to plug in the numbers; but the harder question is what are we doing to conserve,” said Hall.
Stevens said some measures were already being taken but that more needed to be done to balance the budget.
“We can turn thermostats down, shut of idle equipment or reduce the hours buildings are open,” said Stevens, noting $40,000 had been designated for roof repairs at City Hall this year but now those funds would probably be reallocated for other fuel-saving options, such as energy-efficient window replacements.
Stevens told councilors the city was working with Honeywell, the agency that helped the Forum do a fuel-efficient upgrade to its lights and furnace, to determine if similar savings could be implemented elsewhere, like the Indoor Pool.
“The all-important question, I think, is what is the average amount of fuel between now and the rest of the year. I’ve done research online and elsewhere – expecting $4.89 for diesel, $4 for gasoline for the city’s cost. After working with Pat, $187,000 is our best guess,” said Stevens, advising Council didn’t have to make a decision that evening.
“Where I think the date becomes important, after July 1 we’ll have to set the tax rate. The real deadline is your July 7 session. After that, we’ll have to send a supplemental bill if there’s an increase in taxes required,” said Stevens.
Stevens and the Council discussed going through the budget to see what, if any items, could be deleted or reduced to offset for the increase for fuel.
“If we go into the operational budget, it will have more impact on direct service,” Stevens warned.
“I’ve been trying to get the city to take a look at prioritizing needs. So far, that hasn’t taken place. We need to take a look at the broad picture. If Public Works postpones paving, will it cost the city more in the long run? We can’t do anything about the cost of fuel. That’s going to go up. But we can make some important decisions,” said Councilor G. Melvin Hovey.
Hovey questioned what made more sense, keeping a facility used by a portion of the community open or one that provides services to many.
“What’s more important, paving streets or keeping the pool open or repairing City Hall’s roof? I can’t see significantly increasing taxes. And if we can’t significantly increase taxes, then we’ll have to take bold moves elsewhere, think about shutting something down. We can’t wait until July to do that,” said Hovey.
Elish said he tended to agree with Hovey.
“We always talk about maintaining services. It may get to a point where we can’t maintain the services,” said Elish, noting at least one community downstate has already had to cut its transportation budget by about $200,000. “I’m not saying we’d do that here, that’s just an example. But as the crisis continues to escalate, we’ll be in the same position.”
Stevens said fuel is an issue that affects everybody.
“Roadways are quite important. Without them, it impacts everything else,” said Stevens.
Public Works, fire and police are three of the hardest-hit city departments, since much of their work involves having vehicles on the roads on a regular basis.
Councilor Jennifer Trombley questioned how best to prioritize.
“I understand the need for priorities. But prioritizing at this level doesn’t work. Your priorities aren’t necessarily mine,” said Trombley, speaking to Hovey.
Hovey countered, saying each Council should have some priorities.
“If the next Council comes along and wants to change those priorities, fine. But at least we’ll have some guideline. I’m not giving preference to a low priority and doing without a high priority,” said Hovey. “My big concern is there are a lot of big items that aren’t being thought of. Some aren’t in the five-year plan – some things that our infrastructure needs that aren’t part of the five-year plan. Surely we should be thinking ahead.”
Elish questioned what the Council’s next step should be.
“This is where we make the big bucks,” said Elish. “We’re talking significant dollars here.”
“It’s definitely where you’ll earn your salary,” noted Stevens.
Council will continue to discuss the matter and hope to have it resolved at their July 7 session, scheduled for 6 p.m. at City Hall.