Altamont’s Tentative 2013-14 budget increases spending by $120,000 to a total of nearly $2.1 million, but trustees have yet to weigh on potential cuts.
The Village Board of Trustees held its first budget workshop Tuesday, March 12, focusing on public works, police and fire departments and the Altamont Free Library budget requests. Trustees didn’t offer any proposed reductions, but simply reviewed what’s requested within the general fund appropriations totaling $1.1 million. The reaming water and sewer funds totaled about $1 million. No salary increases were included in the budget.
The police department budget remained relatively flat, increasing just $523, to a total of $170,000. Chief Todd Pucci said the department is proposing to reduce its reserves to $7,500.
The issuance of traffic tickets has increased, Pucci said, yielding more revenue for the village. In 2010, police issued 181 traffic tickets, which increased to 369 tickets in 2011 and 661 in 2012. There were also 47 arrests made last year.
Pucci said the increase is due to grant funding being based on the department’s “productivity,” with grant funding from the state and county increasing to help fund additional enforcement.
“We are doing more for less,” Pucci said. “Our budget is going down and the revenue is going up.”
Mayor James Gaughan said there is a wider array of offenses than simple traffic violations included in the 661 tickets.
“One gets the impression that we spend a lot of time just giving out traffic tickets, but this says there is a whole lot of other violations … that the public generally doesn’t know.”
Pucci said there were 18 drug-related arrests, 17 Vehicle and Traffic Law misdemeanor charges, one Penal Law misdemeanor and violation charge, that were included in the tickets issued.
“When you do a lot of vehicle and traffic like that you’re well seen throughout the village and it acts as a deterrent to other crimes,” Pucci said. “Everybody knows when you come to the village you slow down to 30 (mph).”
The Fire Department’s budget decreased by $10,000 in the tentative budget to nearly $113,000. Equipment and a miscellaneous budget line were each reduced by $5,000. Gaughan emphasized the department must attract more volunteer firefighters.
“I know the people that have the power are constantly creating training requirements that have really been a disincentive for volunteers to be able to put in the time,” Gaughan said.
He said the department needs to look at “shifting the paradigm” from paid to volunteer members.
The Altamont Free Library’s 2013 budget requests $41,200 from the village, which is a 3 percent increase, towards its nearly $100,000 spending plan. The village capital contribution would remain at $5,000.
“With the town’s stalwart support and long range vision, the library has finally moved into its location in the restored train station,” said Sally Dague, president of the library board of trustees, in a letter to the village board. “We realize times are tight and hope that after several years of flat funding you consider our request for an increase favorably.”
Dague said circulation and registrations have increased by “double digits” during the library’s first three months at its new home. August circulation totaled 2,690, with juvenile fiction and adult fiction as the two most popular categories.
Grant funding has increasingly become a focus of the library, with $30,000 allocated in its budget.
The Public Works budget remained relatively flat, with fire hydrants increasing by $500 and culture and recreation spending increasing by around $2,000. The department is currently one employee short, so a new hire is possible.
The village’s second budget workshop is scheduled for Wednesday, March 20, at 6 p.m. at Village Hall. A public hearing on the budget is scheduled for the Tuesday, April 2, meeting.