Millville still up against big budget gap

MILLVILLE – The good news is Millville’s budget deficit is shrinking. The bad news is the town is not out of the woods yet and still needs to find ways to fill the financial gap, which could be mean potential additional cuts to services and personnel.

At a meeting Monday, Town Accountant Justin Cole told selectmen that work is continuing to end the year with a balanced budget, saying Millville’s $310,284 structural budget deficit now stands at $255,366.

Cole said the shortfall could be reduced to $112,671 if the Department of Revenue allows the town to make a late transfer of funds to close out against this year’s $102,000 snow and ice deficit.

“What we’re wrestling with is that the snow and ice deficit flows into the fiscal year 2019 tax rate, which is further complicating our fiscal 2018 budget problems,” Cole told the board. “If we are able to adjust for the snow and ice deficit that would reduce the total budget deficit from $255,366 to $112,671, which is a significant change.”

As for the remaining $112,671 shortfall, Cole said there have been additional minor cuts identified, which could lower that figure to $100,000. “But that’s about as far as we can reasonably take it at this point,” he said.

“We will be looking to the selectmen and the Finance Committee for guidance on how to proceed next,” he said. “There are not a lot of options, but there are some.”

One option would be to continue to keep making additional budget cuts, but that would be the least palatable option, he said.

“We’ve cut as much as we can without closing additional town departments and laying off employees,” Cole said.

Cole said the remaining $100,000 deficit could be covered with whatever proceeds the town gets from an upcoming land auction on Oct. 30. A total of nine town-owned parcels are up for auction to bring in needed revenue.

Cole said he will update the selectmen on the budget deficit at their next meeting on Oct. 15.

To get the deficit down from $310,284 to $255,366, the town has been forced to implement significant cuts in service, including eliminating municipal trash service; closing the Senior Center and laying off all its employees; shutting off 64 percent of the town’s street lights; cutting all stipends; eliminating vacant positions; reducing town hall department hours; and laying off one full-time firefighter.

In May, annual town meeting town voters overwhelmingly passed a town operating budget contingent on the passage of a $1 million Proposition 2½ operational override at a special election June 19, but the override failed. That means the town had to implement significant cuts in service in order to balance this year’s budget.