CHESTERVILLE — An apparent increase in spending in fiscal year 2017 struck one Budget Committee member as perhaps too much.
Board of Selectman Chairman Guy Iverson developed the proposal using the voter-approved budgets for 2015 and 2016, plus initial figures for expenditures in 2016. The 2016 budget of $843,000 was $42,340 less than in 2015. Final figures for 2016 weren’t yet available, but to date are $691,537.
The proposed 2017 budget totaled $847,428. That amount was subject to change, Iverson said.
“Proposing $150,000 more in 2017 than what was spent this year sounds like a considerable amount,” Budget Committee member Rachel Heseltine said during a recent review of the spending plan.
Included in the proposed 2017 budget was $120,000 for capital road improvement projects and $25,000 for equipment appropriations under Public Works; $5,000 for a building at the transfer station; and bonuses rather than raises for employees. Iverson proposed $500 for full-time employees and $250 for part-timers.
Iverson said giving bonuses instead of raises was an attempt to control property taxes.
In administration, $3,000 was added for record preservation. That amount was appropriated last year but wasn’t spent. The amount of $157 was added to bring the Maine Municipal Association line up to $2,200 since $2,193 was spent last year.
Payroll at the transfer station was decreased by $1,000 and the associated withholdings adjusted. This reflects the change to having no more than two attendants on duty at a given time.
Code Enforcement Officer Brenda Medcoff said the septic system at the Town Office is in imminent danger of failing. A new system would cost at least $20,000. She suggested putting aside a few thousand dollars a year.
After much discussion, a Public Works budget of $393,180 was approved. That amount does not include $50,000 requested by Road Foreman Mike Cote to buy an excavator nor $25,000 for the equipment reserve account. Road maintenance was decreased by $13,000.
The new Public Works budget is $12,000 less than initially proposed. It is still $100,000 more than what was spent last year; $92,000 more was budgeted but not used last year.
Selectmen and the Budget Committee decided voters will address the excavator purchase in a separate article.
Minor or no changes were made to the amounts proposed for other departments.
The Fire Department budget will be considered at a later date. Fire Chief John Archer received new information Wednesday that will affect his budget total.
Chesterville’s Budget Committee met with Selectmen Wednesday night to discuss the 2017 budget. Budget members at the table from left are Bobby Hastings, Patty Hastings, Kathy Gregory, Kim Lessard and Rachel Heselting. Not pictured is Diane Maberry.