March 29, 2024
BANGOR DAILY NEWS (BANGOR, MAINE

Greenville selectmen discuss budget cuts

GREENVILLE — Suggested areas in which to cut about $19,000, to offset a shortfall in revenue sharing, were discussed by the Greenville Board of Selectmen during a special session Monday.

Town Manager David Cota provided a list of accounts for possible cuts including rubbish collection, street improvements, the Shaw Public Library, health insurance, fireworks, and his own automobile allowance.

Based on the latest figures released by the Legislature, Cota said the town would receive $19,106 less in revenue sharing for the current six-month period of the town’s fiscal year. Cota said this would require the town to cut that amount from the municipal budget to balance appropriations or expenditures with the projected revenue.

He said it should be known that “we will balance our budget because we do not budget interest, and we use this money the following year for an appropriation from surplus.” But if the town does nothing until next June, it will be spending next year’s appropriation from surplus, thus just postponing the inevitable, he said.

Once the cuts have been proposed, a special town meeting in late January or early February will be called for their approval.

In his list for consideration by selectmen, Cota said $8,481 could be cut from rubbish collection. This service could become a private collection service, rather than through a contract with the town.

John Cobb, with whom the town contracts for rubbish collection, said he was willing to compromise with the board. He said the recycling contract with Greenville Recycling Co. should have been reduced when the firm reneged on accepting certain paper. He also believed that recycling should be mandatory.

Cota said the town would address the contract with Greenville Recycling Co. at its Monday, Jan. 6, meeting.

Cobb told the selectmen that he would consider a private rubbish collection service if the town would enforce the ordinance dealing with transportation of rubbish. He could not compete, he said, with individuals hauling waste in the back of pickup trucks, while his business was required to cover waste for transportation.

A representative of the Shaw Public Library said the library already had lost per capita state aide of $422. With more people unemployed and others on tighter budgets, the library was more in demand, she said. She asked that if cuts were made to the library account, that the library board be allowed to make the decision where to cut.

Regarding health insurance, the town could join the new Maine Municipal program that allows higher deductibles on families from $200 to $400 and individuals from $100 to $200. If the town started with this plan Feb. 1, it would be difficult, but it could save $1,380, Cota said. The selectmen would have to address whether school employees would be on this plan.

Cota suggested that the town could consider transferring the Moosehead Sanitary District debt to the district. The town funds 100 percent of the debt service of the plant, he said.

Making the cuts will not be easy, Cota said.

Selectman Eugene Murray said the board should look to charge more next year for contracted services such as fire protection, police coverage, and for the use of the sand pile. In addition, the town should investigate charging a fee for the disposal of tires at the landfill and should adjust the salary levels among specific jobs.

Residents are urged to comment and to offer suggestions on where the cuts could be made.


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