The Voorheesville board of education held a special session on Monday, Jan. 22, to begin public discussion on the preliminary stages of the proposed 2007-2008 budget.
The majority of the discussion focused on three aspects that made up approximately 22 percent of last year’s budget: operations and maintenance, transportation, and debt service.
The specifics were outlined to the board and to those in attendance via a PowerPoint presentation given by Sarita Winchell, the district’s assistant superintendent for business.
In the operations and maintenance budget, totaling about $1.43 million last year, Winchell said the issues that need to be addressed this year are equipment replacement including an energy-saving pool cover, utility costs and negotiated salary increases.
Other than the pool cover, equipment needs include a $20,000 ride-on mower, a $5,000 auto scrubber, a carpet extractor and a burnisher. Last year, equipment needs were only budgeted at $15,700, when the three years prior to that the average equipment budget was over $60,000. The pool cover itself cost $25,000, but Winchell said it is a sound investment.
This is a real money saver in the long run, she said.
In addition to conserving energy costs, the new pool cover will be able to be operated by fewer individuals. Winchell said this particular cover was selected because it balanced cost and ease of use.
`You want it easy enough so people will use it,` said Winchell, `but you don’t want it too high tech because it’s cost-prohibitive.`
Board president David Gibson and other board members said they would like to see more concrete numbers on cost effectiveness, long-term savings and life expectancy.
Utility costs are projected to go up in the upcoming year due in part to under-budgeted costs in 2006. The increases for natural gas, electric, water, telephone and sewer is expected to be $58, 920. Winchell said she hopes to avoid under-budgeting utilities in the future.
`I’m trying to plan conservatively because you don’t want this to happen again,` said Winchell, who also said that budgeting utilities presents unique challenges.
`As you know, the natural gas has been very unstable the last two years,` she said.
Winchell also spoke about negotiating salary increases for maintenance workers, including routine raises and costs associated with a possible reassignment of duties. Contracted salary increases would go up more than $27,000 and reassignment of duties could increase costs around $2,300.
`Why does that result in an increase of cost?` asked Gibson.
For instance, said Winchell, some reassignment duties include risk management and training and would add responsibilities to head custodian Don Provost, resulting in a salary increase.
As part of a proposed three-year bus plan, in 2007-2008 there is a proposal for the addition of one 60-passenger bus for $93,470, and three Chevrolet Suburbans at a cost of $114,000. Bus purchase requires no cost until 2008-2009 and the goal of the three-year plan, which would ultimately add six buses, is to maintain a purchase plan that eliminates large cost fluctuations.
Including salary increases and fuel costs, projected transportation increase in 2007-2008 is $8,865, or .89 percent.
Also, Winchell said that the district’s debt service, which includes borrowing for capital projects, bus purchases and short-term borrowing, is expected to be $2,058,276, a decrease of $12,000.
The expected increase of operations and maintenance, transportation and debt service is approximately $125,000 to $4.6 million, according to Winchell. The increase in these areas would be 2.79 percent.
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