"It's Going to Be A Tight Year"

That's what Finance Committee Chairman Tony Cataldo said at the conclusion of last Friday's meeting. That may be an understatement. The main purpose of that meeting was to go over the village budget.

It's a little difficult keeping up with all the facts and figures when you don't have a copy of the print outs the officials are looking at. From what I gathered F.O. Dale Davis presented them with very detailed figures of what was spent last year. That included figures for what was budgeted, what was brought in and what was actually spent for each department in our village government.

In attendance was Cataldo, Randy Allmon, Joe Soldano, Acting Administrator Rick Williams, Davis and WFD Chief Bill Smith. Committee member John McMahon was working and couldn't make it. Although not a member of the committee Joe Soldano took time to attend. That is to be commended. Getting familiar with how much money you have to work with is very basically fundamental in running the business of Wellsville.

Overall in the General Fund there was $819 thousand budgeted for the year. The village took in $784 thousand and spent $894 thousand. The biggest culprit for going over the budget in this fund was the RITA snafu. They kept collecting income tax from a company that is no longer doing business in town. I think that was Barrett Minerals but can't say for sure. As a result of that screw up the village had to repay something to the tune of $80,000 back to that company. An agreement was worked out to pay the amount back in installments and it has been paid off. That is a big debt that is behind us but it's not helping for this month.

Davis said money will start coming in next month but right now we're very close to being strapped for cash. The village payroll averages $52/54000 a month and insurance costs an additional $22,000. Davis said we have money to cover that but there is virtually nothing left for other items. There will not be a carry over from last year like we had. It's just not there.

Davis went on to express that he is uncomfortable denying purchase orders especially for the Fire & Police Departments. You never know when something they request could prove vital in protecting the safety of village residents. I can certainly sympathise with that.

I stand corrected on the insurance for village employees. It does expire in March. Right now they are talking to the current carrier. It appears they are being reluctant to negotiating a better price for the village. However there are other carriers offering better rates. They are thinking of surveying people with coverage on what is needed and go from there.

The Fire Department is requesting funds to fix or replace the outside siren. Bids range from $4,200 with using the existing pole and installing the new siren themselves, to $6,600 and having the outside company do all the work. Right now that project is on hold. An application has been made with Congressman Charlie Wilson's office for the floodwall pumps. However, that grant, if rewarded, won't be available until 2010. Also it is not known what the village match will be. That part is very important to consider when applying for grants. Allmon suggested it may be time to put a new levy on the ballot to determine what the voters think. We also got an application pending for money for demolition of derelict houses in town.

In other departments the Cemetery is fairly even with what was budgeted last year. Davis once again pointed out there is nothing available right now for any repair or replacement of equipment. The Street fund went over what was budgeted. That was attributed to paying for the new truck, higher gas and salt prices. We all have experience with the cost of gas and the price for road salt just about nearly doubled from last year.

There was a letter from one of the Wilsons suggesting that the village get things lined up for prospective projects to be funded through the stimulus package they are currently working on in our nation's capitol. In that suggestion it was recommended to have any projects engineered beforehand to be ready to submit applications when the time comes. I've been told that is exactly what Buckeye water is doing and they are presently looking for an engineer. That is a great idea but that is an additional burden for the village that doesn't look feasible right now.

Joe Soldano advised he has contacted a grant writer that has worked locally. A while back Council voted to apply for someone for that position but so far nothing has been done because of the current financial condition. It was agreed to meet with the grant writer and go from there. Hopefully something can be worked out.

No hard decisions was made at this meeting. It was decided to provide the department heads with the figures Davis had ready for their consideration. Really it is up to them and the administration to decide where cuts and savings can possibly be made. Then council can put a new budget together for this year. With current economic conditions some tough decisions are going to have to be made. Soldano said they have been talking about that for over a year now. It's come to the point where it can not be ignored any longer. Wellsville needs to stay solvent.

ole nib