VEAZIE, Maine — Town Manager Joseph Hayes has identified a list of potential budget cuts after residents voted to chop more than $100,000 from the town budget during the June 12 annual town meeting.
Hayes presented the list of suggestions to councilors during the July 2 council meeting.
The largest cut is $38,000 from the council-adopted road paving budget of $189,000. That likely means Main Street will be repaved until the money runs out. The rest of the road work will have to wait.
“Fact of the matter is you’re going to end up paying more in the long run when you do that,” Hayes said Friday.
Hayes proposed establishing a 2.5 percent processing fee, or convenience fee, for residents who use credit cards to pay their tax bills. Today the town gets charged every time a taxpayer uses this method. By shifting this cost to residents who choose credit cards as a payment method, Hayes said the town could save about $10,000 per year.
Another proposal would shift the community center, which is slated for a $25,000 roof replacement, into the tax increment financing district. That would mean TIF funds would cover the work at the community center.
Those recommendations, along with about 10 other smaller cuts, would amount to roughly $101,000 in savings.
During the July 2 meeting, councilors and Hayes said they would continue throwing around ideas to see what would have the most effect on the bottom line without hurting town services.
A few other suggestions that were made included adjusting hours of operation at the town office and changing the accounting software program the town uses.
Veazie is THE smallest town in Penobscot county. A lot could be cut if the town does away with its stand alone police department, and contracts out to the Penobscot Sheriffs Department like all the other satellite communities do.
Ok, then where is the money going to come from to hire more deputies?
More deputies, who suggested hiring more deputies? Contracting out is the phrase here.
In order for the SO to keep up and take on another town then yes they would have to hire more deputies. Don’t know why that is so hard to understand.
Veazie pays Penoscot County Sheriffs office for a full time deputy, then the S.O. in turn hires another deputy. So the town effectively oly pays for one person, not multiple people. Veazie does have to provide the car. The downside is Veazie wouldn’t get a person running a radar gun on Rt.2 24/7 like they do now.
If you rhink the SO is just going to hire more deputies then your crazy. They can’t afford what they have now.
Listen, that is an excellent idea. However, let me tell you what, that article in the paper is fodder for the citizen to make the citizen believe they really want to make the cuts, that way if the budget passes, they can state they tried.
Thats easy. Cut the managers position, get rid of the council and you have cut the money. You think that is a bad comment or position to take? Sleep on it, bet you can come up with many scenarios as to why it makes sense.
Now we all know why Reed left.