At the town meeting polls on June 14, Waldoboro residents voted down eight budget items. To create budgets for those departments, the town will meet at an open special town meeting on Sat., July 9, at 9 a.m. in the Medomak Valley High School gymnasium.
The budget items voted down – in order of proposed expenses – are: the police department, $484,403; employee benefits, $481,199; the office of the town manager, $94,575; the assessing department, $77,521; planning and development, $61,221; the recreation department, $49,927; upkeep of the AD Gray building, $14,765; and an article allowing the town exceed the state property tax limit.
Overriding the state property tax limit has only been needed a handful of times in Waldoboro since the law was created six years ago. This year, if residents do not vote to allow the town to exceed the state limit, the budget will need to be reduced by $198,596.
In preparation for the special town meeting, Interim Town Manager Eileen Dondlinger determined an estimated mil rate based on the proposed (rejected) budget and calculated the cost of each department’s proposed budget on a hypothetical tax bill.
The rejected departments requested a total of $1,263,611; the total proposed municipal budget is $3,591,072. The mil rate Dondlinger used was $13.10 per $1000 of valuation.
For a taxpayer with a home valued at $150,000, with a $10,000 homestead exemption, the total municipal tax would be $478.04. The rejected budgets total $168.21 of that tax bill.
The individual departments’ proposed budgets and their impacts on the hypothetical tax bill are:
• The police department: $484,403 proposed; $64.48 on the tax bill
• Employee benefits: $481,199 proposed; $64.06 on the tax bill
• The office of the town manager: $94,575 proposed; $12.59 on the tax bill
• The assessing department: $77,521 proposed; $10.32 on the tax bill
• Planning and development: $61,221 proposed; $8.15 on the tax bill
• The recreation department: $49,927 proposed; $6.65 on the tax bill
• Upkeep of the AD Gray building: $14,765 proposed; $1.97 on the tax bill
Using Dondlinger’s figures, $10,000 in the budget equals about $1.33 on the tax bill.
Dondlinger said each of the departments in question has been stripped to only the expenses needed to perform the basic function of the department at the service level residents have approved in years past.
At the open town meeting “it will be up to residents to give some direction about where they would like to see cuts made,” Dondlinger said. Cutting from any of these departments will mean a reduction in employee hours, which will result in a reduction in service level, she said.
The bulk of this increase results from raises for two officers and increased fuel costs.
Fuel costs are $24,700 in the proposed budget, up $6,630 from last year.
The raises are for two officers who Waldoboro Police Chief Bill Labombarde said were owed step salary increases for two years, and have not received any cost of living raises in years. The cost of the raises, including increases to benefits, is just over $5000 for both officers.
Other increases include vehicle maintenance for the departments’ aging fleet – a $19,175 item in the proposed budget – and a $12 increase to the department’s books and publications budget, Labombarde said.
Cuts were made to areas of the budget such as membership dues, radio maintenance and office supplies. The department will save $1158 by not buying new flashlights or digital cameras for the cruiser, Labombarde said.
Currently, the department has nine full-time employees, including the police chief, the public safety secretary and the school resource officer. The school resource officer works almost exclusively at Medomak Valley High School, and his salary is almost entirely reimbursed by the school district; the school resource officer costs the department about $5400 per year, Labombarde said.
In the proposed budget, salaries total $371,240:
• Police chief: $61,194
• Sergeant: $41,766
• Detective: $37,960
• School resource officer: $35,152
• Patrolmen (four officers): $142,376
• Public safety secretary: $34,861
• Part-time employees: $17,931
There is also $42,901 budgeted for overtime, court time, special detail and holiday wages.
Cutting the budget will result in cutting officers, Labombarde said. It is likely that if a position is cut, it will result in the elimination of the detective position, he said. This would mean that serious crimes – burglary, theft, murder, etc. – would be relegated to the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office, and would compete with crimes from 15 other towns for investigators’ attention.
Waldoboro employs 1.4 police officers per 1000 residents, including the school resource officer; the state average is 1.7 officers per 1000 residents. The staffing level, as well as many other aspects of the department, is based on a 2008 study of the Waldoboro Police Department conducted by the Maine Police Chiefs Association, Labombarde said. Currently, the department has one fewer officer than the study recommended.
At any given time, there are never more than three Waldoboro police officers on duty – one on the road, one detective on investigations and one in the office. At times, there is only one officer on duty.
The department receives 5500 to 6000 calls for service per year, not including animal control and shellfish. They have an average response time of eight minutes.
In response to some residents’ questions about moving to increased reliance on the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office for coverage, Labombarde said the average response time would likely increase to 15 to 20 minutes, “which might not seem like much, unless you need the police right now.”
There would also be an increase to the town’s share of county taxes if increased reliance on the LCSO were called for, Labombarde said.
The bulk of this budget ($301,325) is for employee health insurance. Thirty Waldoboro employees are eligible for health insurance; two decline to receive it. Seven employees receive single-person coverage at a cost of about $5300 each per year, and 21 employees receive family coverage at a cost of $12,000 each per year.
Of those 21 employees with family plans, 10 were hired after July 2003 and pay 15 percent (about $1000 per year) of the difference between a single and family plan. The other 11 employees with family plans were hired before that date and do not pay into their health plan. If every employee paid the 15 percent required of employees hired after July 2003, it would save the town a little over $11,000.
The town also funds an HRA, which is an account used to reimburse employees for their deductibles. Funding for this account is $25,000 in the proposed budget. This allows the town to provide a high deductible plan – saving the town a significant amount of money – while only paying deductibles for health services employees actually use. Money in the HRA that is not used rolls over to the next year.
The other $179,874 in the employee benefits budget are fixed legally required costs: social security ($22,155), Medicare ($22,360), workers’ compensation ($55,694), Maine state retirement ($69,802) and group life insurance ($9,863).
Social security is paid for all part-time employees; Maine state retirement is paid in lieu of social security for full-time employees. The town must choose one of the two, and for all full-time employees except police officers, Maine state retirement is cheaper than social security.
Police officers receive a special plan, which is more expensive, but they also pay more towards their retirement than other employees. The life insurance plan is part of Maine state retirement.
This budget includes the town manager’s wages ($63,360), half of the town office administrative assistant’s wages ($18,273), and the payments towards the previous town manager’s settlement package ($9,302).
The town manager’s salary in the proposed budget is down almost $12,000 from last year’s budget.
The remainder of the budget is divided between travel and meeting expenses ($3000), membership fees and dues ($157), training and educational materials ($200), postage and mailing ($198) and telephone ($84).
Dondlinger said the budget is – like the other departments – stripped to the bare minimum. Any cuts to this department would need to come from salary, and some members of the town manager search committee are doubtful as to whether a new town manager can be hired for less than the currently budgeted amount.
With the form of government Waldoboro currently has, it is required to have a town manager until the town creates a charter or otherwise changes its declared form of government with the state.
This budget includes the assessors’ agent’s salary ($50,236) and half of the town office administrative assistant’s wages ($18,273).
The remainder of the budget covers the software and equipment used for the department ($2,995), travel ($1,285), membership fees and dues ($235), training ($450), printing and binding including tax bills ($1,330), postage and mailing ($1,935), telephone ($87), map revisions ($355) and office supplies ($340).
Assessors’ Agent Darryl McKenney said the only cuts that could be made to his department are from salary. He was the only department head interviewed for this article who said his position could be cut to fewer days per week.
“We have to do what we have to do,” McKenney said. “We could survive on four days a week, but that’s one less day that people can come in and get their work done.” McKenney was referring to both office personnel and members of the public.
On any given day, several residents come to the town office to ask McKenney a question or seek his assistance, Dondlinger said. If McKenney’s – or any other employee’s position – is reduced, those people would be limited as to when they would be able to come in.
McKenney handles all questions related to valuation and other issues related to tax bills. He also assists with building and other permit applications.
This budget includes the planning and development director/code enforcement officer’s salary ($37,336), the part-time code enforcement officer’s salary ($13,254) and the secretary to the planning board and board of appeals ($5,145).
The remainder of the budget covers travel and meeting expenses ($1,785), membership fees and dues ($290), printing and binding ($325), postage and mailing ($1,181) advertising for public hearings ($720) telephone ($84), professional services ($200), office supplies ($200) books publications and software ($200) and training and educational materials ($500).
Everything has been cut from the training and education budget except the $500 for the CEOs to keep their certifications. “Hopefully the other trainings continue to be free,” said Planning and Development Director Misty Gorski.
The remaining expenses in the budget are almost entirely required expenses, Gorski said. Like the other departments, cutting this budget requires cutting from salary.
Gorski works with people trying to build in town to make sure they meet land use ordinance and provides technical assistance to the planning board.
She also works with current business owners and businesses thinking about moving into Waldoboro. She helps them with applications and helps them get acquainted and established in town by connecting business owners to support services.
Gorski is also actively engaged in seeking businesses that might be interested in moving to Waldoboro, she said.
She is the point person in the town’s efforts to re-establish business in the Fieldcrest building and the AD Gray building.
Gorski said the code enforcement aspect of her position could “probably not” be done without part-time Code Enforcement Officer Stan Waltz.
This budget includes the recreation/EMA director’s salary ($41,142), part-time employees’ wages ($4,709) and the two annual senior bus trips ($2,000).
The remainder of the budget covers travel and meetings ($1,015), memberships and fees ($60), printing and binding ($350), office supplies ($250) and mailings ($400).
The budget for mailings pays for the department’s annual brochure. Sale of advertising in the brochure earns about $575 each year.
Most of the non-salary recreation department expenses – the costs to run their programs – come out of an account funded through user fees and donations. Last year, the department took in $35,362 and spent $31,303 on programs.
If the department’s budget is cut, “fees will go up, or programs will be cut,” said Recreation Director Kyle Santheson.
In a typical year, just over 1600 residents participate in a recreation department program. Santheson pointed out that this number does not include spectators who come to watch sporting events and other who benefit from the programs without directly participating.
Currently, the department’s programs typically cost about $25 per child. Six to seven children out of every 30 to 40 who participate will request a scholarship. The town does not deny scholarships, but Santheson said he asks the parents, and checks with people who know the family, about their situation and always requests that the parents help with some part of the fee if possible.
Many of the scholarships are funded through contributions from outside organizations.
If the fees associated with the programs were increased, Santheson fears there would be an increase to scholarship requests and a decrease in participation.
The recreation department’s programs include: senior bus trips; youth soccer; co-ed adult softball; youth cheerleading; basketball; swimming lessons; art classes; senior fitness classes; youth activities at Waldoboro Day; the pitch, hit and run competition; the discount ticket program; and the summer recreation program, a four week day camp.
This is a five-fold increase in programming since the department was formed in 2006, Santheson said. When the department was created, its budget was $55,465 – $5,538 more than this year’s proposed budget.
Santheson said that between running the summer programs, organizing them, running winter programs and serving as the town’s EMA director, he works 42 to 45 hours per week year round. He spends an average of four hours per week on EMA duties.
As EMA director, Santheson coordinates the town’s emergency crews during storms and other disasters. He also handles the town’s applications for grants and federal reimbursement applications after declared disasters.
In his role as EMA director, Santheson has brought $363,124.03 into the town’s emergency response program in grants and storm damage reimbursements since 2007.
In response to some residents’ questions about why the fire chief can’t serve as the EMA director, as they do in many smaller towns, Santheson said Waldoboro’s emergency response crews are too varied.
“If you only have a fire department responding to calls, the response is easier to organize,” he said. With a fire department, ambulance service, police and public works department all responding during emergencies, “somebody’s got to be back here [in the office] coordinating everything.”
By far the largest portion of this budget covers heating oil for the building ($10,850). Other expenses are insurance ($1,347), electricity ($360), water ($1,700) and sewer ($509).
The increase is due to an increase in the budgeted amount for oil from $2640 last year to this year’s $10,850. The increase is due in part to rising oil costs, but mostly due to under budgeting last year, Dondlinger said.
“That’s what it realistically costs to keep the building at 50 degrees,” she said of the $10,000-plus oil budget.
The building must be heated to prevent two drains that bring water from the roof down through the middle of the building and into the town’s sewer system from freezing. Replacing or changing the output location of those drains would be more expensive than heating the building. Demolition of the building would be more expensive than upkeep as well, Dondlinger said.
Currently, the town is working aggressively to sell the property. In an effort to get maintenance out of the town budget, and get the building back on the tax rolls, it is listed for sale for $1. The town is currently accepting proposals for use of the building, which the Waldoboro Board of Selectmen will review.
They have received several applications so far, Gorski said. Any proposal the selectmen choose, will be put before voters at a town meeting for final approval before the property is sold.
