BETHEL – Selectmen took no action Monday night after reviewing an analysis projecting $119,824 in overdrafts this fiscal year.
Town Manager Scott Cole drafted the “worst-case” analysis, which identified 51 of 272 expenditure lines that projections show will be short of money by June 30.
After allowance for grant reimbursements of $75,226, and minor variables, Cole said the total overdraft is estimated to be 5 percent of the $2.4 million budget.
He said selectmen wanted to “see how things shake out,” by reviewing expenditures after seven months.
No effort was made to identify budget lines that might be underspent at year’s end, which would offset some of the shortfalls, Cole said.
Increases in the volume of solid waste would cause overdrafts projected at $30,717, with $20,000 attributed to waste volumes and $11,000 to rehabilitate 16 Dumpsters.
“We’re hitting more volume than we estimated. We flat-funded the solid waste budget, and didn’t budget to rehab the Dumpsters because a proposed upgrade got nixed,” Cole said.
The bottoms of the Dumpsters, he added, “had literally started to fall out in November.”
But Bethel isn’t the only town responsible for the solid waste account. Newry and Hanover would also be sharing the burden.
Projections also show higher heating and vehicle fuel costs.
Wages, equipment repairs and fuel costs were expected to create a $10,692 overdraft in the Fire Department account.
Administrative expenditures were also expected to be overdrawn, thanks to a $1,000 audit and $17,000 in legal fees.
After learning about on-call firefighters’ wages, Board of Selectmen Chairman Harry Dresser Jr. suggested that, perhaps, the time had come for Bethel to begin charging insurance companies for automobile accidents that firefighters respond to.
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