Transfer
of funds may be up to voters in Thurman
THURMAN u Voters in Thurman
may be tasked with deciding how to make up an approximately $101,000 shortfall
in the town Highway Department’s budget.
If
the petition circulated by Town Board member Michael Eddy carrying 39
signatures is deemed valid, it will trigger a townwide referendum on the Town
Board’s decision to transfer about $164,000 from a “capital improvement capital
fund.”
The
transfer would leave just $10,000 in the capital fund but provide enough money
to replenish the Highway Department’s budget and establish a reserve for
machinery costs. The capital fund was created for road repairs after the
damaging storms of 2011.
Highway
Superintendent Patrick Wood said if residents vote on the transfer and deny it,
layoffs to the seven-person crew and cuts to services will likely ensue.
“Everybody’s
got to work together on this. I just feel we need to work together and spend a
lot more time on fixing the problems rather than fixing the blame,” Wood said
following at least an hour of heated debate at Tuesday’s Town Board meeting.
The
debate took place among the town’s leaders, who are frequently at odds.
“There
are men sitting out there who want to know if they’re going to have a job and
if they’re going to be able to pay their bills,” said Town Board member Gail
Seaman.
Seaman
asked Eddy what his plan was for funding the Highway Department if the money
transfer is prevented by the public’s vote, which can’t happen until at least
June.
“My
plan is to have a permissive referendum,” Eddy said, adding after the meeting
that he felt “scare tactics” were being used by the supervisor.
The
public comment — about 30 people attended — was equally lively, with one woman
suggesting Eddy should step down from the board.
Because
of the uncertainty of funding created by the possible referendum, Patrick Wood
said he cannot submit a paving schedule to the county.
Supervisor
Evelyn Wood expressed a concern about cash flow.
“My
concern is if he expends that money for paving, this fund might run out of
money before the (CHIPS) reimbursement comes in. If the fund is out of money,
he can’t pay the staff,” she said.
For
the last two months of 2014, the Highway Department went over budget by roughly
$101,000. In January, the Town Board was faced with making up the shortfall to
pay the bills.
Wood
said the department has gone over budget in year’s past, but has been able to
work through the shortfalls by finding places to cut back.
The
shortfall last year was caused by a number of things mainly related to the
harsh winter, such as rising salt costs and overtime.
Wood
said she cannot find any way other than the transfer to make up the money, and
the town only has about $80,000 to $90,000 in its general fund now.
Two
resolutions in January were unanimously approved by the Town Board — to reduce
the road repair reserve funded after storms in 2011 from $174,024 to $10,000;
and to use the $164,024 to pay the highway bills from 2014 and create a machine
reserve fund with the rest.
Evelyn
Wood said the roughly $101,000 was paid in January with money from the highway
fund, which left it short that much for this year.
“The
funds that we appropriated and raised for 2015, we actually used to pay the
2014 bills, which is what is going to cause the shortage. We anticipated the
transfer coming through. Now that that is not the case, it will have an effect
on operations,” Wood said.
After
the January meeting, Wood said, she spoke to the town attorney and found out if
the board was going to move money from the capital improvement fund, it had to
adopt a resolution saying the transfer was subject to permissive referendum,
meaning a petition could send it to a townwide vote.
At
a March 10 meeting, the resolution stating the transfer was subject to
permissive referendum passed 4-1, with Eddy in opposition.
Eddy
then circulated a petition to send the transfer of money to a vote.
He
took issue with the wording of the resolution because it stated the money would
be moved back to the general fund.
“I
don’t see us taking savings money and putting it back in the general fund,”
Eddy said. “It should have been paid out of 2014.”
Wood
said it has to move to the general fund first, because that’s where it
originated.
Eddy
collected 39 signatures, which was enough. In Thurman, at least 25 signatures
are required to trigger a referendum. The law calls for 5 percent of the number
of people who voted in the last gubernatorial election, or at least 25.
The
petition was submitted at the end of March, but Town Clerk Cynthia Hyde said
Tuesday she was in the process of determining its validity.
“I
guess I don’t really know what we’re talking about this for. When I’m ready,
I’ll tell you and you can take it from there,” Hyde said Tuesday after Evelyn
Wood asked her about the petition’s validity.
It
is the town clerk’s sole responsibility to assess whether such a petition meets
legal requirements.
“You’re
trying to invalidate this petition,” Hyde said.
Wood
said the board needs a decision from Hyde because an election has to be
scheduled 60 to 75 days from the date of the petition’s receipt if it is valid.
This article was originally posted in the Post Star at
