AUBURN – City councilors won’t be happy with any budget increase this year – even if it stays below inflation.

“This council this year is big into cuts in the budget,” said Councilor Ray Berube. “We don’t want to eliminate services, but we really want to hold the line to no spending increase.”

Councilors begin their review of the fiscal 2009 budget Monday night, getting copies of the proposed municipal and school budgets at their 5:30 p.m. workshop.

They are scheduled to review individual department budgets throughout March and April and have scheduled their first public hearing for April 7. They’re scheduled to wrap up work on by April 28.

Last year, councilors approved a $1.72 million spending increase in municipal and school spending. That amounted to a 2.72 percent increase, just below the rate of inflation.

But councilors said even staying below inflation won’t be good enough this year.

“This year, we don’t want to see an increase in the budget at all – before or after you figure for inflation,” Berube said. It’s possible this year, because both city and school officials are working together on the budget.

“I think the school committee that we have today is ready to do the right thing by the taxpayers,” he said. “We feel the same way. And if that means some cuts, laying off some people, we can do that.”

Councilor Dan Herrick agreed.

“Things are tough all over, in today’s economy,” he said. “People are having a hard time dealing and the city departments needs to face up to that. They need to make some of the same kinds of decisions as the rest of Auburn does.”

Herrick said he won’t be happy with budgets that simply map out trends.

“I want specifics,” he said. “I don’t want them to say they had to spend more because of fuel costs. I want to know how much they spent on fuel for each department and each vehicle. I want to know.”

Councilor Ron Potvin said he’ll try to move budget discussions beyond just looking for efficiencies.

“My constituents are telling me to cut services, to have layoffs,” Potvin said. This is what they want, and we have to look at it. We don’t do it to destroy systems but to try and do things that make sense.”

For example, Potvin said he’s interested in creating a city ambulance service that could transport patients. The city already sends medical crews to emergency calls. Those crews help stabilize patients, then wait for private ambulances to take people to the hospitals.

“But we can’t charge insurance for responding, only for transporting patients,” he said. “That’s the only place we could find some revenue.”

Potvin said he also favors contracting some snow plow routes in the city and would consider charging for special bags for trash collections. He also favors combining and shrinking some city departments.

“How much of what parks and recreation does could be split between public works and the schools?” he asked. “It’s something that deserves investigating.”