BANGOR – City councilors Monday night wrapped up deliberations on next year’s proposed $74.7 million budget.

All nine members of the City Council participated in Monday’s budget workshop, the last before the budget heads to the council for final adoption, which will occur during their next regular meeting on Monday, June 27.

Councilor Geoffrey Gratwick, who is vacationing on the coast, weighed in via speakerphone.

Outstanding budget issues included two Public Works positions councilors were reluctant to eliminate and an additional $31,500 that would bring the annual appropriation for the Greater Bangor Convention and Visitors Bureau back up to last year’s funding level of $125,000.

In addition, councilors decided to revisit one of the two Fire Department positions slated for elimination and a geriatric nursing program housed in the city’s health and welfare department.

After about two hours of wrangling with dollar figures, councilors restored two Public Works positions and one Fire Department post.

The visitors bureau, however, did not receive the additional funding it requested.

Councilors had $24,000 they were able to expend without having to override the state’s new spending limits on municipal and school operations.

Contractual changes with Penn National Gaming Inc. for the use of Bangor Raceway facilities are expected to increase lease revenue from $35,000 to $90,000, adding $55,000.

Councilors decided to eliminate an $11,000 contract with OHI for janitorial services.

That left the council with $90,000, and they decided to restore the two Public Works posts at a cost of $67,000. The two positions were among four unfilled ones in that department targeted for elimination.

A majority of the council then wanted to see if the Fire Department position could be restored.

With too little money left to fully fund the position, the councilors agreed to impose another 5 percent across-the-board cut to funding for outside agencies, including the East-West Highway Association, the Fourth of July Corp., the Hammond Street Senior Center and the visitors bureau.

Eliminating funding for the Bangor Area Regional Development Alliance’s participation in the National League of Cities annual conference provided enough to fund the position.

Though Councilor Dan Tremble said he was a “big fan” of the convention and visitors bureau and its efforts to bring business to the city, he said he couldn’t justify the funding “in light of some things we had to take out,” including positions in the public safety and Public Works departments.

Councilor Richard Stone was more direct. He thought it was time the GBCVB became more self-sufficient. He compared the bureau to a group of teenagers. “If you give them an allowance in the summertime, they forget to get a job.”