BELFAST – Faced with a period of economic uncertainty, City Manager Joseph Slocum is looking for ways to reduce spending in the upcoming city budget.

Slocum said Tuesday that everything would be on the table for the budget package, including two open positions at the Public Works Department and one position at the Police Department. There is also the matter of a school resource officer to consider in next year’s budget as well.

One of the public works positions is being filled by a temporary worker until the end of winter. The second position opened up when one of the department’s employees resigned last month. The opening in the Police Department was created when Ron Young left to take the position of police chief in Lincolnville.

Police Chief Jeffrey Trafton wants to fill Young’s slot and is also recommending the hiring of a school resource officer. Public Works Superintendent Bob Richards has already advised Slocum that services would be reduced if the department does not retain a full complement of workers.

Slocum indicated he would discuss the staffing matter with the City Council once he evaluated both departments’ needs.

“I’m taking a hard look at whether I’m going to fill those positions,” Slocum said Tuesday. “I’m looking at staffing levels everywhere: ‘Do we need this many people to perform these functions?’ So I’m looking at that.”

Slocum said the city’s department heads are scheduled to submit their individual budget requests on Friday. From those working papers, Slocum will determine what he feels would best suit each department’s spending needs. He plans to present his recommended budget to the council by mid April. The council has until the end of June to review and adopt a budget for the 2008-09 fiscal year.

“There is no part of the city budget that is free of being trimmed back,” Slocum said.

He cautioned that although people complain about “fat” in the budget, he has identified few areas that could be cut back. He said that though he has found “little things” resulting in a few hundred dollars in savings, “I’m not finding $10,000 things or $5,000 things.”

Slocum said he was unsure what the city would receive in revenues next year, especially in state revenue-sharing dollars and state aid to education. He said any state cutbacks would likely result in the city and school department looking locally for money. That was why it was important to keep each city department on as tight a budget as possible, he said.

In a recent report to the council, Slocum noted that city spending was responsible for 34 percent of the community’s overall tax bite. The SAD 34 budget consumes 57 percent of the tax dollar, and the county takes another 9 percent.

The portion of last year’s city budget that was raised through taxes was $4,739,444, the School Department’s levy was $7,795,946, and the city’s share of the county budget was $1,190,809. According to the report, the School Department received $3,060,894 in state subsidies last year while the city received $700,000 municipal revenue sharing and an additional $186,000 in homestead tax reimbursement from the state.

Slocum noted that even with five months left in the current budget, projections indicate next year’s budget will grow a minimum of $530,000. That takes into account an increase of $102,000 in wages, $178,000 in health insurance, $28,000 in road asphalt, $144,000 in energy, fuel and materials, and $72,000 in debt service.

That projection, coupled with a $108,000 increase in the county budget approved in December, would add nearly 1 mill to the tax rate. That projection assumes the city’s total gross property valuation does not decline. Last year the city experienced a decline of $21 million in value, mostly attributed to the sale of the former MBNA properties for prices lower than their assessment for the purpose of taxation.

“I’m optimistic for Belfast,” he said. “I’m not pessimistic, I’m cautiously optimistic.”

wgriffin@bangordailynews.net

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