Syracuse Looks At $3.22 Million Budget
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Jordan Fouts-
The largest increases by department include an extra $98,500 for streets, $46,000 for the clerk's office and $43,000 for police, council heard during its first look at the budget to be voted on in October. The smallest increase, $8,538, went to Town Manager Henry DeJulia's budget.
Reasons for the extra money include increased health insurance costs and expected costs of maintaining and policing newly annexed land surrounding Oakwood Inn south of town. Vega Field, purchased months ago from the Wawasee School Corp., is also in the works to be turned into a sports field and will need regular mowing.
Estimated income from the 2012 tax levy is $1.58 million, up from $1.44 million this year.
Since they can decrease budget amounts but not increase them after advertising the budget next month, members looked over figures for each department and tried to determine if the money would cover expected projects and expenses. They made no changes, though member Brian Woody questioned the $360,906 allotted to parks and voted against that portion of the budget “on principle.”
“I find it very hard to understand how we can spend $400,000 on parks but only $224,000-ish on the fire department, and we fight the fire department tooth and nail,” he said. “We never tell parks no, just like we never tell anyone else no.”
He added that, at 14 percent, he considered the town's portion of the joint fire department budget “very justifiable.”
Council President Paul Stoelting and member Bill Musser defended the parks budget, noting the department has to oversee the community building and plans for Vega Field. Stoelting told Woody to suggest specific budget cuts and Musser called the parks department an important part of the community.
Earlier in the meeting council agreed to get a cost estimate for installing sports fields and extra parking at Vega, at Stoelting's suggestion. He said he felt council was being asked to make a decision at a moment's notice and that he didn't want to spend money on it “carte blanche.”
Also earlier in the meeting, fire department members and residents chastised council members who voted against the purchase of a new ambulance at the last meeting. Council had voted 3-2 against contributing $21,700 toward a $155,000 ambulance to replace an 11-year-old vehicle in need of repair.
Debate then erupted anew within council, during which member Jeff Morgan remarked he drives a 1978 car so the EMT should make do with repairs, and member Larry Siegel said the department “is so hard-up to buy a new ambulance it never did its due diligence.”
Morgan replaced Siegel as the second council representative on the fire board moments earlier, after Siegel resigned this month.
Musser, the other rep on the board, closed the debate by promising to go back to the board and recommend they get a firm price for repairs to the old ambulance, “and we'll see if we can live with it till it gets replaced, which might be next year.”
“Let me put this horse to bed because I'm tired of beating on it,” he told council. “It doesn't do us any good to come here every month and argue about the same damn thing.”
“And it's a hard fact that you can't compare a car and a fire truck,” he added.[[In-content Ad]]
The largest increases by department include an extra $98,500 for streets, $46,000 for the clerk's office and $43,000 for police, council heard during its first look at the budget to be voted on in October. The smallest increase, $8,538, went to Town Manager Henry DeJulia's budget.
Reasons for the extra money include increased health insurance costs and expected costs of maintaining and policing newly annexed land surrounding Oakwood Inn south of town. Vega Field, purchased months ago from the Wawasee School Corp., is also in the works to be turned into a sports field and will need regular mowing.
Estimated income from the 2012 tax levy is $1.58 million, up from $1.44 million this year.
Since they can decrease budget amounts but not increase them after advertising the budget next month, members looked over figures for each department and tried to determine if the money would cover expected projects and expenses. They made no changes, though member Brian Woody questioned the $360,906 allotted to parks and voted against that portion of the budget “on principle.”
“I find it very hard to understand how we can spend $400,000 on parks but only $224,000-ish on the fire department, and we fight the fire department tooth and nail,” he said. “We never tell parks no, just like we never tell anyone else no.”
He added that, at 14 percent, he considered the town's portion of the joint fire department budget “very justifiable.”
Council President Paul Stoelting and member Bill Musser defended the parks budget, noting the department has to oversee the community building and plans for Vega Field. Stoelting told Woody to suggest specific budget cuts and Musser called the parks department an important part of the community.
Earlier in the meeting council agreed to get a cost estimate for installing sports fields and extra parking at Vega, at Stoelting's suggestion. He said he felt council was being asked to make a decision at a moment's notice and that he didn't want to spend money on it “carte blanche.”
Also earlier in the meeting, fire department members and residents chastised council members who voted against the purchase of a new ambulance at the last meeting. Council had voted 3-2 against contributing $21,700 toward a $155,000 ambulance to replace an 11-year-old vehicle in need of repair.
Debate then erupted anew within council, during which member Jeff Morgan remarked he drives a 1978 car so the EMT should make do with repairs, and member Larry Siegel said the department “is so hard-up to buy a new ambulance it never did its due diligence.”
Morgan replaced Siegel as the second council representative on the fire board moments earlier, after Siegel resigned this month.
Musser, the other rep on the board, closed the debate by promising to go back to the board and recommend they get a firm price for repairs to the old ambulance, “and we'll see if we can live with it till it gets replaced, which might be next year.”
“Let me put this horse to bed because I'm tired of beating on it,” he told council. “It doesn't do us any good to come here every month and argue about the same damn thing.”
“And it's a hard fact that you can't compare a car and a fire truck,” he added.[[In-content Ad]]
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