Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
SYRACUSE - Syracuse Town Council met Thursday to hear initial 2007 budget presentations when council president Brian Woody made a statementÊabout the possible closing of the town's emergency dispatch center.
On June 20 a press release stated that the town would cut its dispatch and animal control offices to save money for other projects in the upcoming 2007 budget.
After hearing budget presentations Woody spoke to the attendees about the anticipated cuts, which included at least 12 EMS/Fire Department and Dispatch workers.
"I can't believe we're cutting whole departments when there's room for cuts in others," Woody said. He pointed out unused funds appropriations for "beautification," and unnecessary expenditures for contract mowing services.
"I don't want to cut $100,000 from a budget just to spend it elsewhere," Woody said. "I see a lot of fat we could cut first," Woody said.
After Woody spoke the meeting was adjourned, but after just a few moments reconvened when members of the crowd asked to speak. Assistant fire chief Kevin Grindle reiterated his last month's statement to the board, citing the need for a local dispatch.
"I stand here tonight and ask you guys - please, reconsider closing this dispatch center," Grindle said. His words were met with applause from the attendees.
In other business, the board heard initial budget readings. Most budgets are expected to be slightly up and all cited a 4 percent wage increase in addition to rising gasoline and energy costs.
Town manager Jeff Noffsinger said all budgets presented are "a first glance," and are not in their final version.
The presented budget amounts are as follows:
The town manager presented a budget of $135,456. This is an 11.21 percent decrease over the 2006 budget.
Police presented a budget of $747,152, a 7.98 percent increase; the emergency medical service presented $262,770, a 1.85 percent increase.
The parks department's initial budget was $325,675, a change of 7.31 percent and the streets department stayed the same as 2006.
The clerk treasurer's proposed budget was $463,817, a 2.79 percent increase. The fire department presented two different budgets, one including the hiring of a sixth full-time firefighter/paramedic and one operating on current staff.
Hiring a sixth man will increase the fire budget 13.91 percent over the 2006 budget, coming in at $458,803; maintaining current staff levels will cost $420,022, a 4.29 percent increase.
All budgets are expected to be leaner by the council's first budget workshop, Aug. 1 at 6 p.m., because Woody asked department heads to come back with cuts. This is part of his effort to continue the local dispatch center.
