The “Public Budget Hearing” held by Rumford’s Board of Selectpersons was both disturbing and discouraging. To begin with the hearing did not comply with the dates set out in Article III of the Charter for the Public Hearing to determine the Department Budgets that will be placed on the ballot. Despite being made aware of the non-compliance with the Charter the board continued and voted on several department budgets. These will have to be affirmed during the period prescribed by the Charter. What makes this all most disturbing is the Selectpersons have complained long and loudly about the voting results insisting the citizens not attending meetings to be informed as to the will of the selectpersons. The selectpersons feel we voted against them repeatedly last year because we didn’t know the right way to vote. This year the selectpersons held two joint workshops with the finance committee to go over every department budget. They then scheduled two public hearings not in compliance with the Charter. These are followed by two more public hearings with the Finance Committee, which is followed by another public hearing with the selectpersons and finance committee to go over all the decisions they made. The Charter Commission is looking into ways to force everyone attending town meeting to stay to hear it all again instead of adjourning after the business to be voted at the meeting portion is completed. It really does seem as though Rumford’s leadership believes if they tell us something enough times we will believe what they tell us to be true without using our own noggins to consider and deliberate individual and as a community. Rather like, “If you like your plan, you can keep your plan,” “if you like your doctor, you can keep your doctor,” no matter how many times a lie is told, it is still just that, a lie no matter who is telling it. I have far more confidence in the Citizens of Rumford than Rumford’s leadership seems to have in us. As has been widely advertised, the top of our town government locked us into pay raises for all employees of 2.5% or more (Finance Director is more, as is the Town Manager when and if we move from the interim to a permanent town manager). I don’t know anyone out here in the real world who is getting any raise, never mind 2.5%. With 80% of what is credited to the cost of most departments in their budgets (insurance, retirement, workers comp and so much more is hidden in a plethora of articles outside the department budgets) being wages 2.5% is going to have a visible impact on the department budget bottom line. That said, Fire Chief Bob Chase is again to be commended as the Fire Department budget proposal for 2014-2015 is only a 0.62% increase over the approved budget of 2013-2014. The approved 2013-2014 budget was $625,000. The Selectmen approved $644,481 to go on the ballot. As reported from the joint budget meeting, Emergency Management is rising 10.5%. However that is an increase of only $656 from 2013-2014 approved of $6,237 to $6,893. The reason for the increase is to cover our match for a very large grant to purchase and install a generator at Mountain Valley High School that serves as the town’s emergency shelter. If the town is not awarded the grant, the money would revert back at the end of the 2014-2015 fiscal year. This is where the good news ended and the shocking reality of where the majority of selectpersons want to take us hit. After last year’s five trips to the polls with the people making the adjustments to level of service at the polling booth, most people would have gotten the message we can’t and won’t continue with the high end, high priced departments and if on this board or the finance committee would have been looking to stay at the level of service funding the people forced last year or better still, offered even more reductions as we face even more revenue losses. But, the majority of the board still don’t get it. The police chief came to the joint meeting with a proposal of $729,342 which includes increasing the number of sworn officers by 1, so much for the people cutting two last year. At the joint meeting selectpersons and finance committee members not only embraced the addition, they suggested bringing back the 2nd position cut by the voters, a second detective. At last night’s public budget hearing, the return of the two positions cut by the people last year became the intended selectmen’s recommendation reality to appear on the ballot in June. The chief came in with a request of $729,342 which is $63,342, 9% more than we approved last year. I can’t wait to see what happens when they get to Public Works on March 24th. The only other department budget addressed in this 1 hour hearing was Animal Control which stayed basically the same with the approved for 2013-2014 at $23,063 becoming a 2014-2015 selectpersons recommendation of $23,647. The $584 difference reflects a change in the choice of boarding plans selected by the police chief. While the 2013-2014 June voting called for across the board rejection of budgets, the 2014-2015 June election looks to be calling for approval of some offerings such as Fire and Emergency Management and rejection of others like police and most likely public works. It may turn into a long budget season again. We will have to wait to see what the Finance Committee does and what the new board to handle rejected articles looks like come June to find out just how long it will be.
Posted on: Fri, 07 Mar 2014 16:25:37 +0000