Budget town meeting vote will be held on May 16

SALISBURY — The public hearing on the proposed 2012-13 budgets for Salisbury Central School (SCS) and the municipal government was generally uneventful. A crowd of about 40 residents heard presentations from SCS Principal Chris Butwill, First Selectman Curtis Rand and Board of Finance Chairman Bill Willis at the hearing Monday, April 23, at Town Hall. Education spending Butwill began by noting that SCS enrollment has been steady since October 2009, at either 311 or 310 students.He said that the school plans to reduce faculty by one full-time teaching position, and highlighted the major summer project: updating the school’s computer network.Butwill said the school’s existing network is so old the support company doesn’t have anyone able to service it. “We took that as a signal that we needed to upgrade.”Butwill said that both certified and noncertified contracts are up for renewal in the coming fiscal year, so the line for legal fees is up to $7,500 from $2,500.The school is budgeting fuel oil at $4 per gallon. All told, the proposed spending plan from the Board of Education calls for a total of $4,839,481, an increase of $37,059 or .77 percent.The Region One assessment, for tuition at Housatonic Valley Regional High School and the town’s share of Pupil Services (including Special Education) and the Regional Schools Services Center), is up $53,222 (1.78 percent) for a total of $3,044,259. (This figure assumes the Region One budget plan passes at the May 8 referendum.)Total town spending for education would therefore be $7,883,740, an increase of $90,281 (1.16 percent). Municipal budget Rand presented the proposed spending plan from the Board of Selectmen, which calls for $5,041,778, an increase of $93,270 (1.88 percent). The selectmen’s budget proposal does not include revenue, which is calculated by the Board of Finance.Rand started by noting that all three selectmen waived a salary increase. (Their pay is determined by the Board of Finance.)Most Town Hall employees receive 2 percent raises, but the selectmen’s secretary line shows a 6.4 percent raise. Rand said that came about because the the situation was unsettled in the recent past, with a maternity leave and temporary coverage.The voter registrars’ line is up $14,698, reflecting a busy election year. The Planning and Zoning Commission’s line is down 4.7 percent, from $69,164 to 65,899, largely because the costs associated with the Town Plan of Conservation and Development will end this year.Under “Town Hall operations,” Rand said the rise in costs there “are primarily heat, but there’s not much we can do about it except turn the thermostat down more than we already do.”That line rises from $68,142 to $76,676, up 12.5 percent. Heat accounts for $19,200 of that total, up $5900 (44.3 percent).Rand said the health insurance line is down $6,937 (1.5 percent) in part because of a favorable renewal negotiation and because the line was overbudgeted last year. The proposed spending plan calls for $448,000 for health insurance.The line for the dog warden is up to $14,583, an increase of $1,118 (8.3 percent). Rand said, “Maybe it’s a sign of the times, but dogs get abandoned in Salisbury.” When that happens, the town is obligated to feed and house the animals, take out advertisements, and “figure out what to do with them.”Mike Flint asked for precise figures on the dogs; Rand said he didn’t have them handy but would get them the following morning.The major change in the town budget proposal is in the highway department, where the selectmen wish to add to the capital fund for purchasing new trucks.“Last year we realized we were short on capital,” Rand said, adding that new highway trucks cost as much as $160,000.So for highway construction in the coming fiscal year, the selectmen have allocated a total of $340,000 ($140,000 comes from the state).And with an eye toward future equipment needs, the selectmen are setting aside $95,000 for capital expenditures.In response to a question from Flint, Rand said that Indian Mountain and Taconic Roads are slated for repaving this year. Mill rate estimate Willis then took the lectern. He said that the combined spending plans total $12,925,518 (up $183,551 or 1.44 percent). Revenues are currently estimated at $1,060,600, and the town has an operating surplus of about $210,000.“But,” he said. “Yes, there’s a ‘but.’”Willis said the finance board wishes to start setting aside funds now for a projected increase in enrollment at the high school by setting aside a tenth of a mill (about $115,000) in the next two fiscal years.This anticipates a rise in the Region One assessment of about $342,000 beginning in 2013-14, when the current seventh grade at SCS goes to the high school. The current seventh grade has 48 students, compared to an average class of 30.Willis conceded that enrollment projections change, but “we do need to prepare.”The current mill rate is 10 mills. Willis sketched out mill rate increase possibilities — including the “worst-case scenario,” an increase to 10.3.Willis said if the average property assessment in town is $355,000, a 10.3 mill rate would equal a hike in property tax of $103.He said if the town approves a tenth of a mill for high school tuition it will be put in a designated fund. “At a bank, earning interest?” asked Len Stewart.“That’s what we usually do,” said Willis.The Board of Finance met Wednesday, April 25, for a final look at the two budget proposals and to vote to present them to the town budget meeting Wednesday, May 16, 7:30 p.m. at Town Hall.