Robert G. Yandow
We are nearing the end of a very long process for budget development and approval. The budget, as developed by town staff, was reviewed by the Board of Selectmen before being formally presented to the Budget Committee in late January. Throughout February and the first half of March the town budget was subject to review and amendment by the Budget Committee. The final step is formalizing the language of the warrant articles that will appear on the May 2008 Budget Referendum.
The initial budget, as submitted to the Budget Committee, contained a 4.2 percent increase in tax appropriation which was the target established by the Tax Task Force. Reaching this target was very difficult given the current needs of town departments along with substantial increases beyond our control. As a result of the budget review process, the proposed increase in tax appropriation for the operating budget now stands at 3.28 percent. This percentage increase does not include the new full-time position for the library or a separate article for paving that is addressed below.
There are two line items in the proposed budget that reflect significant increases. The first line item is contracted services in the public works budget which overall is up 26.81 percent. This increase is due primarily to a 31.6 percent - $257,800 - increase in solid waste collection fees. The town's current 10-year contract with Waste Management, Inc., expires June 30 of this year so the increase for fiscal 2009 is a result of the new contract based on the town's request for proposals from interested and qualified solid waste companies. The second line item that increased substantially is fire protection charges from the York Water District. As a result of a proposed rate increase filed with the Public Utilities Corporation the town's water charges will increase by 15 percent - $105,546 - annually. The increase for fiscal 2009, however, will only amount to 7.5 percent, or $53,055, due a $54,000 credit that the town has with the York Water District. The full increase of 15 percent will be included in the fiscal 2010 budget.
Much of the other increases to department budgets are the result of increased energy costs, contractual wage increases or other areas beyond our control. For example, the budget in the Finance Department is increased by 10.4 percent primarily due to increased auditing costs, which are as a result of the town receiving increased federal (FEMA) funds.
Finally, there are two warrant articles that should be explained. The first is a $250,000 appropriation for "catch-up" paving. Each year, with the increased cost of asphalt, we are able to do less paving with the same amount of funding. This year we are adding the separate article in hopes of having more funding available which will allow up to "catch up" to previous year's paving levels.
The second article is winter maintenance. Due to the severe winter that we are experiencing we are undoubtedly going to overspend the winter maintenance funds in our current year budget. We hope to have enough funds available in our contingency account to make up the difference; however, in the event we don't have enough funding, we are asking for the authority to transfer money from our fund balance to cover any outstanding balance. Additionally, we are placing the winter maintenance article on the ballot separately for next year to request pre-approval to transfer money from the fund balance in the event it becomes necessary due to another harsh winter.
We will be presenting more information regarding the proposed budget in public meetings and in the annual budget newspaper that is mailed out prior to the Budget Referendum.
In the meantime, if you have any questions please feel free to call me at 363-1000 or email me at ryandow@yorkmaine.org.
