FARMINGTON – Selectmen voted unanimously Thursday to cut $56,600 from the municipal budget as suggested by Town Manager Richard Davis and the Budget Committee.
Davis said Thursday that he realized selectmen needed to shave about $56,000 off the town’s proposed budget after reviewing state requirements limiting yearly tax increases, without a voter-approved referendum, to 1 percent based on a couple of factors, Davis said.
“One of them,” he said, “is growth in income” of Farmington citizens, and the other is “growth in our local property valuation.”
Selectmen approved all the proposed cuts, including, among others, a $7,500 decrease in the Parks & Recreation budget, a $15,000 cut to the Public Works department, and a $13,000 cut to the Police Department. Davis said Thursday, before meeting with selectmen, that when deciding what to cut, “our goal is to try to make cuts that won’t impact services taxpayers have a right to expect.” In doing that, he said, he also tries to avoid cutting programs and laying off employees.
“And so we look at things like capital improvements,” Davis explained, cutting budgets for repairs or purchases not absolutely imperative, or money for employee overtime and department reserve funds. Some of the cuts, he fears, “will eventually come back to haunt us.”
Selectman and Franklin Country Sheriff Dennis Pike said Thursday evening that he fears the town’s expenses are growing at a greater rate than the tax cap allows for, and worries a time will come when “we’re going to have to close buildings because they’re no longer safe, if the town no longer has the funds for routine maintenance.”
Selectmen also discussed using money from the town Undesignated Funds Balance to put air conditioning in the municipal building lobby. According to Wright, the town is currently wasting money using window mounted units that are ineffective.
Selectman Mark Cayer and Pike pushed to add the issue to the warrant for the town meeting, wanting voters to be made aware of the selectmen’s intentions. Selectmen are not required to gain voter approval to appropriate funds from the Undesignated Funds Balance, sometimes referred to as the town’s surplus account, but Cayer and Pike both said they felt in this case, voters should be made aware of the town’s plans.
Selectmen agreed with the proposal, and Davis added language disclosing the selectmen’s intentions to the town meeting warrant.
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