AUBURN – Councilors wrapped up their review of the city’s $31 million municipal budget Monday by studying the library, fire, police and public works department budgets.
“Now we can start working toward a tax rate,” City Manager Pat Finnigan said. “Your homework tonight is to start thinking about that.”
Councilors are scheduled to meet Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. for a budget workshop in the Auburn City Council chambers, on the top floor of the City Building.
As proposed, the budget calls for a 5.62-percent increase in property tax revenues. Salaries account for most of the budget increase, especially for the fire and public works budgets. Both departments are requesting salary increases of $102,000 for the coming fiscal year. But both have kept other budget items in check, which has let them keep their bottom line budgets smaller.
“If you look down this budget, item after item, you will see flat funding requests,” Finnigan said. “They’ve done a good job with some of their costs.”
Finnigan also applauded a $2.46 million police budget request for capital and operations that is $5,472 less than the department’s current budget.
Library Development
Library officials said they’ve trimmed plans to purchase new books for the coming year to get ready for their planned expansion.
Director Rosemary Waltos said the library plans to relocate to the Chamberlain School next year, after the Auburn School District has relocated to its new space in Auburn Hall. That will be the library’s temporary home until 2005 when the expanded library opens.
Waltos said it makes sense to reduce the new materials budget from $96,945 this year to $92,820 for the coming fiscal year.
“With the change to the temporary building, we felt it was safe to give up that much,” she said.
Waltos said the library has been looking to increase revenues. The library will hire a full-time development director to spearhead fund-raising campaigns. That full-time position will replace the volunteer job performed by Barbara Trafton since 2000. Trafton said Monday that she is not in line for that job.
The new development director will need to raise enough money in his first year to pay his salary and benefits.
“We hope that in four years they are raising three times their salary and benefits,” Trafton said.
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