Selectmen Find Ten Grand Under the Mattress

Peru's Selectmen have been scrambling ever since the voters rejected (twice) a request for an appropriation of $72,900 for Town Office operations for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2011. The voters approved $62,900 instead, a number recommended by the Finance Committee and one that exceeds what was actually spent in FY2011 for the same line items. The extra $10,000 was considered necessary to cover $4,500 in annual "maintenance" for the Town's new super-dee-dooper computer software, plus $4,200 for a new health benefit for the Selectmen's secretary, another $500 for rising heating costs, and $800 just because.

At last night's meeting the Board continued its exhaustive search for nickels and dimes. There was a lengthy discussion about where exactly the Town's street lights are located and whether we needed every single one of them, inviting the question, how many selectmen does it take to turn off a light bulb? Ultimately it was decided that the allocation for street lights might be trimmed by $1,000 by dousing four or five lights, although a follow-up call to CMP is needed to confirm the actual savings, if any.

As the process moved on, the Town Clerk's deputy was the big loser. The Selectmen decided to cut the position back to 250 hours for the year, which would save the Town $3,500. The amount set aside for assessing was reduced by $2,000. $800 of the secretary's wages will come from the Planning Board's budget instead. Phone expenses will be trimmed by almost $800, office supplies by $600, and janitorial supplies by $200. The Selectmen hope that $1,400 in "other" expenses incurred in FY2011 will not crop up again in FY2012. Such wishful thinking brings the "savings" to a little over ten grand. Mission accomplished.

This hit list is considered a rough draft and is subject to further tinkering.

Selectmen Skirt Budget Issue

At their weekly meeting last night, Peru's Selectmen got some encouraging news about the Town's fiscal standing. Chair Tim Holland read a letter from Maine DOT that a long-awaited check for the state's share of the Town's new sand/salt shed, constructed five years ago, will be arriving "shortly." Exact amount: $92,123.61. Add an expected hike in Municipal Revenue Sharing in FY2012 of $7,773 (according to revised projections released earlier this month by the State Treasurer's office), and you get a year-over-year revenue boost of almost 100 grand.

Auditor Keel Hood was present to update the Board on his inspection of the Town's books. He will finish his on-site activity on Tuesday and told the Selectmen that "I do not anticipate major problems." Though he does not yet have final figures, he expects to find that the undesignated surplus at fiscal year-end was about the same as a year ago. Unpaid taxes have not increased dramatically in the past year, but Hood warned the Board that aging liens are "a sign that people are having a hard time paying their taxes." The townspeople should have the audit in their hands at least a month earlier than they did in 2010.

On the spending side, the Selectmen were still struggling with how to shave $10,000 from the Town Office budget, as per the voters' directive of June 28. Under consideration is a reduction in the amount set aside for annual assessing from $7,000 to $5,000. Wages for the Deputy Town Clerk may be dropped from $5,000 to $3,000. However, those cuts will be offset by $4,500 for software updates and IT support, an amount somehow omitted during budget deliberations last spring. The position of Selectmen's Secretary was described as a "fixed" cost by Holland, who cannot see the Board functioning without a full-time secretary.

If the Town picks up the secretary's health insurance on January 1, 2012, as planned, then the costs of that position will rise to nearly half of the budget target for Town Office operations. Everything else is small change. One is reminded of the legendary remark by Willie Sutton, when asked why he robbed banks. "Because that's where the money is," said Willie. At some point during the fiscal year, the Board will finally have to recognize where the money is.