JAY — Town Manager Shiloh LaFreniere on Tuesday presented a proposed $4.79 million municipal budget for 2017-18.

It included reductions proposed during Monday’s budget workshop.

The proposed net budget is $3.19 million after factoring in revenues. It represents a decrease of $691,127, or 17.8 percent, from the current budget.

It does not include the second $1.33 million payment of $4 million to Verso Corp. to settle a three-year tax dispute.

It does away with most capital reserve amounts.

The proposal includes elimination of $12,000 to subsidize Jay’s children to attend a summer recreation program in Livermore Falls, $4,775 in donations and curbside trash collection.

It also decreases hours at the Transfer Station and eliminates a full-time position there, and makes a full-time custodian position part-time. The animal control officer position and sexton position, currently held by the custodian, would become stipend positions.

Residents have said they do not want their tax bills to rise, given the debt owed to Verso.

Any recommendations would have to be formally approved by selectpersons at the Feb. 13 meeting. The Budget Committee will also consider the budget at that time. It would go to a public hearing on March 13 and to the annual town meeting referendum April 25.

Selectpersons would have to decide if $11,025 for Spruce Mountain Ski Slope and $2,500 for Area Youth Sports insurances would come out of the town’s recreation reserve account. Those requests had been under donations.

The package also incorporates a lower town contribution to employee health insurance and more anticipated revenue, including $54,000 that would be gained if selectpersons follow through on raising sewer rates.

It removes $1,200 for printing 1,000 town reports. Photocopies of the report would be available and people could see the report online, residents at the workshop said.

The new draft budget does not factor in some recommendations that were made at the end of Monday’s 4½-hour meeting. Those included elimination of a police officer and making one of two full-time positions at the Sewer Department part-time.

Those suggestions will be looked at during at 6 p.m. workshop Monday, Jan. 30, tentatively set at Spruce Mountain Middle School. 

LaFreniere had walked into Monday’s workshop prepared with a $4.95 million spending proposal that was $312,402 less than the current budget. The figure did not factor in anticipated revenues or the second $1.33 million payment to Verso Corp. However, it did incorporate suggested reductions made at a workshop on Jan. 17.

LaFreniere and department heads had worked for hours trying to come up with reductions and more revenue, she said.

On Jan. 17, those in attendance wanted to reduce the budgets across the board by 10 percent. On Monday, people wanted an additional 15 to 20 percent reduced from some proposed budgets that had already been lowered.

dperry@sunjournal.com

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