Council adjusts $9M budget for 2011

Houlton Pioneer Times Photo/Elna Seabrooks
KEEPING TRACK — Town Treasurer Nedra Hanson tallies changes made by councilors to the 2011 budget during a meeting Monday evening. The revised numbers will be presented at a public hearing on Monday, Jan. 24.
By Elna Seabrooks
Staff Writer
    HOULTON — Councilors weighed in Monday evening on the town’s budget as proposed by the Board of Budget Review (BBR). After approving a few changes before it goes to a public hearing later this month, the budget now stands at $9,106,561. Increases to cover police and employee benefits more than swallowed the $23,015 savings on insurance premiums with a different carrier. A proposed $500 increase to the museum was cut.
Police, workers’ comp hiked
    Police Chief Butch Asselin told councilors that $19,100 was needed to cover pay upgrades, midyear replacements, education incentives and lateral transfers. Asselin stated: “It severely impacts my operating budget if that money is not included.” The total police budget jumps to $952,708.
    Chairman Walter Goodrich explained that “$9,150 represents the actual change to workers’ compensation that just came in and unfortunately there isn’t much we can do about that.” The change raises the workers’ comp figure to $1,104,986.
    When discussing a $2,000 increase in grants to other agencies, Councilor Sue Tortello raised the fact that the Aroostook Historical and Art Museum board had not requested a $500 increase over their $2,500 annual amount while Vital Pathways had requested a one-time grant of $1,500. The councilors decided to cut back the BBR’s proposed $2,000 addition by the $500 for the museum.
    Yesterday morning, Catherine Bell, museum curator, reacted by saying: “The town is good to us. The volunteers do most of the work and the town furnishes the building. So, we are where we were last year.”
Unknown factor
    The wild card in the town budget remains the mandated payments to cover the schools which will not be known until officials at SAD 29 prepare the numbers sometime in the spring. “It’s just a guess at this point,” stated Goodrich. The budgeted amount for schools is $1,976,337.
Houlton Pioneer Times Photo/Elna Seabrooks
BUDGET REVIEW — Councilors review accounts totaling $9,106,561 in the town’s 2011 budget during  a meeting in Council Chambers on Monday. Mandated payments to SAD 29 will not be known until the spring and could increase the final figure. From left, are Nancy Ketch, Michael Jenkins, Brian Donnelly and John Fitzpatrick. Not seen are Chairman Walter Goodrich and councilors Sue Tortello and John White.
    However, Goodrich did comment as he and the councilors reviewed the budgets for individual accounts that “almost all of these show decreases from the year before.” He thanked “the department heads and the BBR for going over all of the accounts in such detail and for doing such a good job.”
    The next regular meeting of the town council will be Monday, Jan. 10. A public hearing on the budget follows on Monday, Jan. 24. Both meetings will be held in Council Chambers, 21 Water St. at 6:30 p.m.