$776,011 shortfall in draft budget

MILLBROOK — Before leaving office on Wednesday,  March 31, Millbrook Mayor Andy Ciferri presented the Board of Trustees with his draft budget for the fiscal year 2010-11.

This first-round draft budget proposes unchanged village taxes and a 3-percent reduction in other revenue sources. On the expense side, the mayor included no salary raise for the next mayor; however, other expenses are proposed to increase almost 30 percent, resulting in a budget gap of $776,011. The major contributors to this deficit are the recommended expenditures of $500,000 on street maintenance equipment and a $124,000 increase in police and rescue squad expenses.

Since the budget must be balanced, the Board of Trustees has been meeting every Tuesday evening to wrestle with the numbers. Under Trustee and Deputy Mayor Laura Hurley’s guidance, the trustees are refining the mayor’s budget, eyeing revenues realistically and re-examining expenses.

For example, the trustees seem prepared to increase the next mayor’s salary 40 percent to $10,000 a year (from $7,000). The trustees will probably add to police expenditures, but not at the level Ciferri recommended. Based on the trustees’ draft budget of Tuesday, March 30, the board has not yet decided on tax levels for the village or that $500,000 expenditure on street maintenance equipment.

The next regular village of Millbrook Board of Trustees meeting will be on Tuesday, April 18. Not only will the budget be discussed, the board will likely select a new mayor to replace Ciferri.

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