By JON BAKER

LINCOLN — Ken Booth admitted last week was a real grind.

For four nights, Monday through Thursday, the Budget Board chairman and his “teammates” met with Town Administrator T. Joseph Almond and Finance Director John Ward to iron out logical, responsible numbers for fiscal year 2008-09, those to be delivered to registered voters when the Financial Town Meeting takes place on Monday, May 12.
Those gatherings were mandatory, Booth said, as the deadline for such a budget, to be returned to Town Clerk Karen Allen, came Friday.
“It was more difficult than it has been in the past, no question,” Booth stated Tuesday afternoon. “The financial state of Rhode Island and the ‘S3050’ law made it a long process … There are two governmental restrictions to our budget, the first is that ‘3050’ cap, which limits tax levies to five percent over the prior year; the second is R.I. General Law 16-2-21, which states that school budgets can only be raised by five percent over the previous fiscal year’s municipal contributions.
“It used to be that budgets were submitted by every department, and the board would assess the need and justification for those requests,” he added. “At that point, we’d develop an overall budget, and that was it before the presentation to the town … This year, it was a similar process, but more tedious because that ‘3050’ law really hit us hard.”
The 11-member board completed deliberations late Thursday evening, proposing a combined operating budget of $71,304,017, an increase of 2.72 percent in the tax levy. That number complies with the state-mandated levy-cap increase limit of five percent.
“A key consideration of these deliberations has been the town’s ability to support future budgets as the (Rhode Island) levy cap decreases,” Booth said. “Projected decreases in state and local non-tax revenues also limited the ability to provide funding for budget requests.”
The budget proposes municipal spending of $16,917,337, an increase of $708,735 -- or 4.37 percent -- over the current amount. As for the school budget, the proposal now sits at nearly $48.3 million, representing an increase of approximately $1.125 million (2.38 percent) beyond the 2007-08 budget.
“This amount will maintain existing programs and extracurricular activities, and allows for $503,239 of capital improvements for existing facilities,” Booth offered. “There were some health care savings, and also adjustments to payroll ... The school department had proposed the creation of a couple of new positions, which the budget board decided, ‘This isn’t the year to do it.’ Simply put, we made a number of adjustments in a variety of areas, those we felt could be sustained without damage or detriment to the educational process.
“We also wanted to allow sports and extracurricular activities to remain a part of that process,” he continued.
Just a few weeks ago, Almond had proposed a municipal operating budget of just over $16.9 million, so that remains the same. On the schools’ side, the administrator originally submitted a figure of $47.8 million, and the board’s budget is about $500,000 higher.
According to Booth, the board asked the voters to ponder another proposal -- that is, to renovate the old middle school (next to the high school) and relocate school administration offices from the old site, located at the intersection of Front Street and Lonsdale Avenue.
“That way, the town would have the option to sell the property and use the revenue to reduce the tax burden,” Booth maintained. “Our board was just throwing it out there as an idea. Now it’s up to the Town Administrator, Town Council, school committee and the voters, to determine if it happens.”
The natural question remained: Will more come out of the taxpayers’ pockets?
“That will depend on how much growth there has been in the tax base within the last year,” Booth said. “Let’s put it this way: This (fiscal) year, we took in approximately $47.5 million from property tax revenues. At this point in time, we don’t know the effect of the proposed budget will have on the tax rate. The Town Administrator is still finalizing that now, but I will say we are expecting a minimal effect on the tax rate.
“But, understand this, any increase to the proposed budget will result in an increase in taxes,” he added. “If you say there will be a minimal effect, it all depends on who you’re talking to. If you’re speaking with someone who feels they’re already paying too much, he or she may object. Others who want to see an increase in services provided? They may think it’s not enough.”
Booth added that minor cuts were made to the municipal budget, the reason being “Joe Almond came in with a bare bones number, and didn’t take more than he felt he should. I think the town has been very efficient.
“These numbers are sufficient to run the town for the fiscal year 2008-09, but -- without question -- we’ve had to stretch the dollar more than we have in the past,” Booth maintained. “We’ve had to look at being more efficient; that is, get more for the same dollar.
“I will say this: This year’s FTM will be a little different this time, in that adhering to state law will govern some of the actions at the meeting. That ‘3050’ law limits the ability of a voter to modify the budget above the state cap. Still, every voter interested in attending the meeting can question anything proposed. He or she may not be happy with the answer, but at least they’ll get one.”