Just two village residents turned out to comment on Liverpool’s $2.1 million tentative 2009-10 village budget at the board of trustees meeting Monday April 13.
The proposed $2,112,772 budget was cut by about $5,000 from this year’s spending total, and if enacted, village taxes will remain flat.
“This results in no tax increase,” Mayor Marlene Ward said when the budget was unveiled last month.
At a public hearing on the budget Monday, however, village resident Alice Melvin urged the trustees to seek further cuts.
“This is a small, mile-square village with a thousand families and a handful of businesses,” Melvin said. “Where can we cut this budget?”
After praising the mayor’s administration for improved street-scaping, sewers, beautification and establishment of a comprehensive plan, Melvin listed several areas where money might be saved or raised.
Since the village owns the historic Gleason Mansion on Second Street, for instance, Melvin suggested it charge rent to the handful of “incubator” businesses operating there. In discussing the salaries spent on the police department, Melvin suggested that consolidation could be an option.
“I heard that (the town of) Clay saved a million dollars by consolidating with the Sheriff’s Department,” Melvin said. {Q}”I was shocked at the number of police officers we have here earning (a total of) $735,000, and four of the top officers are paid $50,000 each. What kind of crime do we have in this village other than traffic?”{Q}
Trustee Gary White, a former police officer and now the board’s liaison with the LPD, pointed to two studies conducted in the 1990s that showed that the department plays an important role in deterring serious crime here. Statistics prove, White said, that small towns without police departments have higher crime rates than Liverpool.
The LPD has six full-time employees including the chief, a sergeant and three full-time officers, as well as seven part-time officers and four part-time crossing guards,
Ward said the county Sheriff’s Department could not provide the same service residents receive from the LPD.
“Consolidation is a buzz word,” the mayor told Melvin. “The bottom line is that if you consolidate, you have to give something up And, believe me, people do not want less services. They want their brush and trash picked up, they want snow removed from the streets, and they want police in the village.”
The proposed budget provides for 3 percent raises for non-union village employees and 4 percent raises for police officers who are represented by a Police Benevolent Association collective bargaining unit. The LPD’s overall budget would rise by 6 percent.
The only other resident discussing the budget Monday was Linda Young, owner of KittyCorner. She suggested that if the town of Salina were contracted to pick up un-housed cats the way it handles the village’s loose-dog calls, it could negatively impact the village budget.
The board will vote to approve the 2009-2010 budget at a special meeting at 6 p.m. Wednesday April 22; its deadline is May 1. Meanwhile, copies of the proposed budget can be examined by residents at the village clerk’s office, at the Village Hall, 310 Sycamore St.
Police stats for March
According to a memo from Liverpool Police Chief William Becker provided to the village board at its April 13 meeting, officers issued 275 citations for violations of the state’s vehicle and traffic laws during March.
Eleven arrests were made for driving while intoxicated and six traffic accidents were investigated.
Officers made 485 residential checks during the month while investigating a total of 318 complaints.
Security cameras OKed
Monday the trustees approved the purchase of four security cameras to be installed at the Village Hall at a cost of $1,650. White said the volume of Village Court cases justifies the expenditure, and Ward said the cameras should improve the safety of both the public and the staff. Trustee Nick Kochan pointed out that there will be additional operating expenses for such a security system down the road.
