LIVERMORE FALLS — Budget discussions between selectmen and the Budget Committee broke down Monday after the committee was told it didn’t have the authority to eliminate positions or reduce wages.

The committee members left the meeting.

Selectmen are proposing a $2.25 million municipal budget for 2013-14. The Budget Committee was proposing a $2.09 million budget, which did not have everything factored into it and had not been finalized.

A public hearing on the proposed spending plan is scheduled at 6:30 p.m. Monday, April 29, at the Town Office.

If the governor’s proposal to eliminate revenue sharing to towns for the next two years gets through the Legislature, the Board of Selectmen will have to revisit the budget, Town Manager Kristal Flagg said. The town won’t know its anticipated revenues until late June and if they find out after the June 11 town meeting referendum that changes need to be made, another town meeting will be held.

The selectmen’s budget is $45,774 less than the current budget. The budget panel’s recommendation is $165,074 less than the current year.

During the budget review Tuesday, the Budget Committee proposed to eliminate a police officer, eliminate part of the police chief’s salary and a secretary the Police Department has for eight hours a week.

Selectmen Chairman Bill Demaray told committee member Ron Chadwick the committee could not make its own budget. They could not cut wages or eliminate positions, Demaray said.

“You cannot eliminate an officer,” he said.

The selectmen handle wages and positions, he said.

The duty of the Budget Committee is to make recommendations on the selectmen’s budget, Demaray said.

“Then we’re done,” Chadwick said. “We don’t have a budget.”

He walked out of the meeting as did committee Chairwoman Ronnalean Sanborn. The rest of the committee left soon after.

Demaray said the town had hired an attorney a few years ago to go over duties and roles of committees and boards, the Freedom of Information Act and other training.

Flagg said Wednesday that the Budget Committee had also recommended reducing the Public Works Department wages by 10 percent. Many of these are contracts.

The town’s attorney had told the Budget Committee during training that it is an advisory committee only and are to work within the scope of the selectmen’s budget.

A Budget Committee Policy adopted by selectmen on Aug. 21, 2006, states the committee has the following roles and duties:

* To review and make recommendations on the annual operating budget as proposed by the municipal officers and town manager;

* To review and make recommendations on annual capital expenditures as proposed by the municipal officers and town manager;

* To review and make recommendations on supplemental appropriations and expenditures and other budgetary action whenever proposed by the municipal officers and town manager.

* To make such other recommendations on fiscal matters as it may from time to time deem advisable.

dperry@sunjournal.com

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