Town tightens its belt for 2009

PINE PLAINS — The Town Board was busy working numbers last Thursday, Oct. 23, in an effort to create a budget the townspeople will be able to live with.

"There’s been a lot of cutting. We’re trying to keep the tax levy increase around 3 percent or under," town Supervisor Gregg Pulver said. "I think last year it was zero percent. The year before that it was around 2 percent. We’re just trying to keep everything as low as possible."

Pulver said it’s been tough trying to work the budget numbers in conjunction with the many departments’ needs. For instance, budgeting for the Highway Department has to take into consideration high fuel prices and expensive materials like sand and salt.

"We’re going to be as conscious of and as efficient as possible," he said. "Everybody is cutting back a little — the state, the county — everybody is doing it. The bottom line is that we looked at every department and every line item and try to become as efficient as possible. Not that we haven’t been making a concerted effort to make every bit of the dollar value count, which I have tried to do over the last 10 years and continue to try to do."

This year the Highway Department is not accounting for the biggest chunk of the budget, although there were increases. Road oils, etc., cost more, and there will likely be some cutbacks on maintenance issues.

"Our roads are in superb shape, so we have the luxury to cut back a little bit," Pulver said. "A lot of the costs are energy costs for our buildings and health insurance and employee benefit costs. This was the toughest budget I’ve had to deal with in the eight years that I’ve been doing budgets."

Most lines, in fact, needed money added to them. Then there’s the revenue side of the budget, which is hard to predict. The town is not sure where it will stand with mortgage tax revenues next year. Nor does it know where sales tax revenues will wind up. Those are the "two big items" on the revenue side, according to Pulver, other than land tax.

"Looking at the whole budget is a little tougher this year," he said. "Looking at the revenue side, we have to make sure we’re not short. I think we did it. We sat down and [reviewed it] line-by-line. Really, the things that are going to cost money are employee benefits, energy requirements and raises."

In terms of raises, the town doesn’t actually give those out until its reorganization meeting at the first of the year. However, the board did make sure there will be enough money in the budget for at least a 3 percent raise for its employees. There was also an increase in the town’s recreation line as well as $5,000 of additional funding to the library.

Although there was a 6 percent increase in spending overall, there’s only an anticipated 3 percent tax levy increase, that’s due to $63,000 coming into the town in additional tax revenue, due to new home construction, which makes up the difference.

By meeting’s end, the Town Board agreed on a preliminary budget of $1,456,250, which is $77,320 higher than last year’s budget of $1,378,930. Pulver said it’s the best the board could do with the town’s finances at this moment in the country’s economic status.

"I think we’ve done OK," he said. "We realize that every dollar we take out of taxpayers’ hands is another dollar they have to earn. We’re all in the same boat."

There will be a public hearing on the budget Nov. 6, at 7:30 p.m., at the Town Hall. The public is encouraged to attend to weigh in on the proposed budget.