Greenville proposed expenditures down $61,482 from last year

By Mike Lange
Staff Writer
    GREENVILLE — Voters in Greenville will decide the fate of a municipal budget of just under $2.4 million or $61,482 less than last year, according to Town Manager John Simko.
    The Greenville Board of Selectmen held their regular meeting on May 7 and a special session the following day with the Budget Committee to finalize the figures.

    The overall budget includes $2,398,724 in expenditures and $1,061,609 in offsetting revenue for a net municipal budget of $1,337,115.
    Town officials want to use $257,832 from the fund balance utilization account — commonly known as surplus — to help balance the budget and pay for some one-time expenditures, Simko explained.
    As of June 30, 2013, the account had a balance of $572,992. “We took a hard look at anticipated revenue and felt this was the best route to take that would have the least effect on the taxpayers,” he said.
    One of the new items is a $73,030 Wacker-Neuson compact front-end loader that would clear sidewalks more easily in the winter and be used for other public works tasks during other seasons. “Central Equipment in Stillwater came up this winter, and let us use one of the machines on Lily Bay Road with a lot of obstructions. It worked great,” said Simko. “It also has a sweeper and bush hog attachment, which will be very beneficial in places like the airport.”
    The $535,213 public safety account request is up by $47,845 from the previous year and the recreation facilities account is up 10 percent from $83,788 to $93,871.
    Much of the public safety account increase is due to improvements and upgrades in the fire department, said Simko. “Safety Works (from the Maine Department of Labor) inspected us last year, and basically gave us a six-month window to correct deficiencies. Otherwise, we wouldn’t pass a DOL inspection,” said the town manager. Some of the deficiencies were related to firefighting equipment and others to the fire station.
    The other part of the increase is $10,000 for the police department cruiser replacement reserve account.
    The recreation department would like to lease the former fitness center at the Leisure Life Lounge to host its year-round programs, said Simko. “Our rec director (Sally Tornquist) is kind of a refugee,” he explained.
    When Nickerson Elementary School was open, she used the multipurpose room for some activities. When the school closed, she used part of the incubator building in the industrial park, which was being leased by John Pepin. The lease ended last summer, so Tornquist has to use the consolidated school and gymnasium. “So she’s in competition with every other school and sports group,” Simko said.
    Tornquist has offered to raise funds to pay for 50 percent of the lease and has asked the town to pick up the rest of the cost. “Knowing Sally, she’ll come through,” Simko said.
    On the revenue side, the fire department contract services for Piscataquis County are up 52 percent from $52,000 to $79,088; veterans and tree growth tax reimbursement is anticipated to increase 38 percent from $16,400 to $39,000; and the town will receive $80,000 reimbursement from the Department of Environmental Protection to help pay for the closure of the landfill.
    One source of municipal funding that hasn’t been consistent is state revenue sharing which has gradually decreased from $155,973 in 2008-09 to $67,093 last year. The town is anticipating a slight increase this year to $75,000.
    Greenville’s annual town meeting will be held on Monday, June 2 when the municipal and school budgets will be voted on.