BERLIN – Mayor Zack Tyndall formally introduced Berlin’s $6.3 million budget this week.
At Monday’s meeting of the town council, Tyndall told officials the budget as presented varied little from what they saw in April’s budget work sessions. A public hearing on the proposed spending plan is set for May 24 at 7 p.m.
“I will say for the council and for everybody that’s watching, we’ve had the work sessions, we’ve had the tax rate hearing,” Tyndall said. “Not much has changed from the work session to the introduction that you have before you.”
The general fund budget as proposed has expenditures of $6.3 million. The electric fund budget features expenditures of $5.3 million, while the water fund expenditures total $937,000, the sewer fund expenditures total $2.5 million and stormwater expenditures total $182,000.
“There are close to 700 line items in the budget,” Tyndall said. “It’s pretty expansive.”
He said a GIS mapping device for the utility funds had been added, as had a $20,000 expenditure in the electric department to help trim trees.
Councilman Jack Orris asked about a new $750 item in the elected officials’ budget.
“Sometimes what happens is dignitaries and things of that nature will come visit the town of Berlin,” Tyndall said. “What we’ll do is we’ll offer some food, like finger food and some drinks, typically done by one of our local businesses, and we’ll have that here in the conference room if they were to come.”
Orris also asked about $3,750 budgeted for computers for the mayor’s office. Tyndall said both he and his assistant needed new computers. While his assistant’s device is due for replacement, Tyndall said he needed a laptop because the office’s previous computer had been sold to the prior mayor.
The public is invited to weigh in on the proposed budget, which is available on the town’s website, during the council meeting on May 24. In March, the town’s elected officials adopted a tax rate of $.815, higher than the flat $.80 rate Tyndall recommended, after advocating for employees. Tyndall’s proposed budget does not include employee salary increases and cuts the vehicle and cell phone allowances previously given to some employees.
