Budget adopted - total, tax levy unknown at time of vote
by JESSICA L. FINCH Associate Editor

The 2008 Town of Amherst budget total was not known at the time the spending plan was voted upon. The vote taken was to "adopt the budget as amended."

The fiscal impact of the resolutions amending the tentative budget had not been tallied at the end of the five-hour budget meeting on Monday. But however the numbers work out, the budget will be official as Supervisor Satish Mohan and council members Michael McGuire, William A. O'Loughlin Jr. and Bill Kindel voted to adopt it.

The three remaining council members, Dan Ward, Deborah Bruch Bucki and Shelly Schratz, said they wanted to know the total before voting.

"I don't think we were keeping track that closely," Mohan said in response. "I can't give definite numbers ... you are very generous spenders, we see that today."

A total of 38 resolutions were submitted for the meeting, although several were duplicates or modified versions of each other. Some of the changes were major, involving several hundred thousand dollars.

"I can't tell from one fund to the next," Comptroller Frank Belliotti said when asked if he knew the new total. "There was a credit before, but that has been narrowed to a couple hundred thousand."

He added that he would need to look at the Capital Improvement Projects adjustments again to know the exact amount.

At the close of the meeting, Mohan said the final budget numbers were expected Tuesday evening, after The Amherst Bee's press time.

The tentative budget was $115.83 million, an increase of 2 percent from 2007. A tax levy decrease was expected because of $6.5 million marked to be used from the general fund balance, or surplus.

Mohan's resolution protecting that transfer, leaving the general fund balance at 10 percent of the total 2008 budget, passed. Council Member Deborah Bruch Bucki was very vocal in her opposition to having only 10 percent.

She said she would not vote on the increase in spending while reducing the fund balance.

The Highway Department appeared to gain the most during Monday's budget process. The board restored $135,000 for a new plow truck, replacing a 17-year-old machine.

The board denied funding for a $150,000 skyworker, which is 18 years old. They agreed to add $5,000 to the account for an arborist and additional tree trimming, bringing the total to $10,000.

Funding was kept in the budget for highway employees' salaries. Mohan had proposed reducing it from $10.3 million to $10.05 million. The board also denied Mohan's motion to reduce the retroactive payment line to zero and instead put $840,000 in that line to cover salary increases.

Mohan's motion to save money on gas and oil was a small success. A $50,000 savings was realized, but he had proposed a $150,000 savings.

The budget will fund two of Mohan's four proposed new employees. The plant superintendent and purchasing manager positions, each estimated to carry an $80,000 salary, were approved. Removed were the budget director and code enforcement officer positions.

The board also approved creation of a $500,000 contingency fund, sponsored by Ward, something he had been pushing for.

"That is very wise on the part of Council Member Ward," Mohan said.

In a move that upset Recreation Director Anne Schiferle, the board voted to require the department to reduce its seasonal staff by 5 percent. It was the only department in town required to adjust its staffing level. The reduction was expected to save $6,400.

The board added $40,000 to the Assessor's Office budget, but Bucki said she thinks the figure is still not enough to do a full reassessment.

Mohan said the $40,000 was in addition to fully funding the department's request.

"I don't want to make any more waves in that department; I will agree to put it in," he said.

The town will have an assistant town engineer next year after Mohan was convinced to remove his resolution to eliminate the position. Ward said during the meeting that the current assistant engineer had written a confidential letter to the board, threatening a lawsuit should the resolution pass.

Ward accused Mohan of proposing the resolution for personal reasons, in an attempt to get rid of a certain employee, not the position itself.

The Amherst Bee will report the final budget numbers when they are announced by the town. Updated stories will appear on the Bee's Web site at www.amherst bee.com as available.