The Rochester Finance Committee Monday night continued reviewing the proposed FY24 town budget as it wrestled with whether to add new positions despite a $155,000 shortfall between revenue and money requests.
Highway Surveyor Jeff Eldridge made the case for a new, full-time mechanic that several departments, including his will share, costing his budget an additional $59,946. Eldridge explained that nowadays he and his other employees handle most of the mechanical work themselves, and he and the fire chief help each out in that area as well. But the work takes him and his employees away from other duties. A couple of these veteran employees may soon retire, and the jobs they cannot fix themselves are expensive. His example: $185 for a department truck’s single visit to an expert repair shop.
“I can save a lot of time by having this person,” Eldridge said. “Hopefully we can have someone like this in the building every day. We haven’t had a new employee since 1997. We’ll share this mechanic with other departments.”
Fire Chief Scott Weigel said he’s the only one who regularly mans the fire stations. That’s why he would like to add $34,000 to his budget for a new part-time, assistant firefighter. His plan, he said, would be to use two to three part-timers for 8:00 am to 4:00 pm shifts Sundays through Saturdays.
“It’s becoming too difficult to be just a one-person department,” Weigel said, noting that since January alone the department has fielded 149 calls. He said this new position would be able to help him call runs, do inspections and maintain the equipment.
Eldridge, who is also the Fire Department’s deputy chief, pointed out the problem with call departments. “You don’t know who will show up,” he said. “This will be a better way.”
Financial Director Suzanne Szyndler provided the caution on these plans. She reported that the town has had some good years revenue-wise in the past few years but that this budget year is not one of them. New-growth (tax levy that supports the budget) has gone from $400,000 in FY23 to an estimated $175,000 in FY24, she said. “So we are losing revenue,” Szyndler said. “This is very concerning to me; I am struggling with this budget.”
Town Administrator Glenn Cannon then made an announcement that may alter some salaried positions as the budget process moves forward. The new Town Counsel (Mead, Talerman & Costa, LLC) has informed him that the new Personnel Board does not have the authority to make grade changes for particular employees, a task this new board had set about doing under its goal to achieve a more equitable compensation system.
Szyndlar said this new information will change some departments’ salary proposals, but she has been careful to keep those proposals out of the department budgets the Finance Committee has been given for its review.
The Finance Committee ultimately voted to recommend the $737,939 Highway Department budget that includes the new mechanic and the $418,365 Fire Department budget that includes the cost of the part-time firefighter assistant. However, committee members agreed to revisit these budgets as the town budget process plays out.
The committee agreed to meet next on Tuesday, March 7, at 7:00 pm at Town Hall, 1 Constitution Way.
Rochester Finance Committee
By Michael J. DeCicco