LIVERMORE FALLS – Selectmen got a glimpse of some draft municipal department budgets Monday night and approved a group’s request to paint the town’s light poles.
Board Chairman Ken Jacques, also a member of the Downtown Betterment Group, said Tuesday that selectmen approved the committee’s request to volunteer to paint the poles black. The tall, metal light poles are now silver colored.
The poles run from Western Auto on Main Street to the Livermore Falls Water District on Depot Street, Jacques said.
Use of equipment has been donated, and the group is looking into possible donations of material, Jacques said.
The painting will take place on a Sunday in the latter half of April, Jacques said.
Police Chief Ernest Steward Jr. said Tuesday that he is proposing $1 an hour increase for both reserve emergency dispatchers and police officers. That would boost reserve dispatchers’ pay to $10 an hour and reserve officers’ pay to $10.50 an hour.
In light of the competitive environment for reserve personnel in the area, Steward said he proposed the pay increase to help retain the town’s trained personnel.
The reserves in both departments are committed employees, Steward said, and they help the departments reduce budgets by eliminating the need for overtime pay for full-time employees.
The problem the departments are facing, Steward said, is the retention of good reserve employees who are reliable and capable of covering shifts for the regular staff.
The dispatch budget proposed for 2005-06 is $133,000, an increase of $5,258 from the existing budget, and includes $1,992 to cover the increase of hourly pay for reserve dispatchers.
The police budget is proposed at $320,157 for 2005-06, a $1,322 increase over the existing budget.
Steward said he is trying to keep the budget as low as possible and has factored in $2,810 for higher hourly salary for reserve officers, if approved.
He also has increased the amount for fuel from $10,500 to $13,300, and he has added in $10,000 to put in reserve for a police cruiser next year. Two of the cruisers have more than 100,000 miles, and the newest front-line car has about 15,000.
Neither budget includes an increase in wages for full-time staff, Steward said. The officers and dispatchers have been working under the old contract since it expired June 30, 2004. Negotiations are continuing, he said.
Other budgets getting preliminary review Monday included administration at $110,012, up about $3,750; buildings account at $51,465, an increase of $1,390; contingency account, which includes $53,500 for items such as wage adjustments for 2004 and 2005; and the capital improvements budget at $129,400. The latter reflects a $90,400 increase over the existing budget, which includes $50,000 for road construction projects, $37,000 for the town office roof sealing, and $15,000 for a pad for the metal pile. It also includes $23,000 for bike/walk path.
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