Municipal budget reviewed by board

Houlton Pioneer Times Photo/Joseph Cyr
BUDGET REVIEW — Houlton’s Board of Budget Review has begun analyzing the 2013 municipal budget. At a workshop Monday, chairman Walter Goodrich, right, and member Anthony Delucca go over the numbers.
By Joseph Cyr
Staff Writer
    HOULTON — If the town wants to avoid another tax increase next year, some difficult choices will have to be made in the very near future.
    Houlton’s Board of Budget Review met for the second time and spent two hours Monday evening going over the spending plan for 2013. The budget committee meets again Wednesday evening at 6:30 p.m. to discuss the departments of public works, police, code enforcement, community development, tax abatements and assessing. The final committee review will be held Wednesday, Dec. 12 at 6:30 p.m.
    The Houlton town council will review and perhaps vote on the 2013 budget at its Monday, Dec. 17 meeting. Or the council could decide to make numerous cuts or additions to the various line items.
    As presented, the proposed 2013 budget, including estimated amounts for the County Tax and RSU 29 school board, is $9,474,134. That figure is up $248,374 (2.7 percent) from the current spending package. If approved, as is, the proposal would likely result in tax increase of 1.25 mills. However, if the RSU 29 budget comes in more than anticipated, the overall tax increase could be even higher.
    Municipal spending is up $76,331 (1.1 percent) from last year as the total municipal budget is $6,954,104. Much of that increase is due to a 2 percent raise in salaries for all employees for the second straight year. There was no wage increase in 2011.
Houlton Pioneer Times photo/Joseph Cyr
SWORN IN — Phil Bernaiche was added to the Board of Budget Review committee Monday evening to fill a vacancy with the group. Swearing Bernaiche in is Town Clerk Cathy O’Leary.
    The town has $473,780 in its undesignated fund balance as of Dec. 31,2011. Town Manager Eugene Conlogue did not recommend taking any money from this fund to offset taxes, because the balance was already lower than recommended in the most recent town audit. Ideally, the town should have upwards of $1 million in its undesignated fund.
    During Monday night’s session, Phil Bernaiche was added to the committee. According to Town Clerk Cathy O’Leary, there was an oversight when listing the number of positions available on the Board of Budget Review during the November election. Bernaiche ran unsuccessfully on the ballot, but since he was the only other candidate at that time, he was asked to fill one of two openings on the committee.
    The board members reviewed the departments of administration, debt service, employee benefits, projects, parks and recreation, civic center, fire, ambulance and cemeteries.
    One of the more debated items Monday was the proposed 2 percent increase in salaries for staff and department heads. Conlogue said the raise for employees was part of a negotiated package with the various unions and as such was not able to be altered. However, the town could elect not to give the raises to its department heads, since they do not fall under the union category, but that is not what is currently in the works.
    “The ones who are not represented by the unions, it is our desire to extend the same 2 percent increase,” Conlogue said.
    “It’s very easy to give raises when the economy is doing well, but when the economy is not, (raises) should not be added in,” said board member Tony Delucca. “Our economy has been on the skids for about three years, and yet we are still giving raises? The business people are not giving raises because we cannot afford to.”
    There are 12 department heads, along with two other employees who are not unionized. The cost of the 2 percent raise for those individuals is about $15,000.
    Board chairman Walter Goodrich said he felt it would be bad business not to give the same 2 percent raise to the department heads.
    “The union contracts have already been settled,” Goodrich said. “Do we want to send the message to our other employees that we are not going to give them a matching 2 percent? It doesn’t sound like it’s a very big number.”
    The town will not begin negotiating new contracts with its unions until 2014.
    Board member Wade Hanson said he felt the raises should be included in the budget.
    “They (the raises) are much needed in the community,” he said. “It’s an economic boost.”
    At one point, board member Dale Flewelling expressed a desire to see a 5 percent reduction in the overall budget, but fellow committee members did not support his request. Conlogue said he would bring a proposal that showed a 5 percent reduction in administration to Wednesday’s meeting, but added, “you won’t like it.”
    Flewelling also suggested the group take a look at the benefits package of town employees.
    “When we talk about salaries, most all employees of the town of Houlton have a pretty handsome benefit package, compared to the private sector,” Flewelling said. “It’s not personal, but everything should be on the table for discussion.”
    Goodrich said the town has been working to lower the costs of its benefit package through negotiations for several years, but did admit they were still probably better than what was found in the private sector.
    In its review of the John A. Millar Civic Center, the board discussed the proposal of eliminating the director’s position and replacing it with a supervisor position. The Civic Center director was employed at a yearly salary of $46,869. That position, as proposed, would be eliminated and in its place a supervisor position will be created with a yearly salary of $27,500.
    The next budget review meeting will be held Wednesday inside the council chamber at 6:30 p.m. That meeting is open to the public.