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By MIKE LANGE - GREENVILLE - Two rather conservative budgets will face Greenville voters at the June 3 annual town meeting set for 7 p.m. at the Greenville High School auditorium. The end result could be a lower mil rate from the current $20.20 per $1,000 of assessed valuation, according to Town Manager John Simko. Municipal elections will take place Tuesday, June 11, the same date as the statewide primary and bond referendum. Greenville's municipal budget request is $1.4 million, a 4.3 percent increase over last year, said Simko. However, the mil rate may drop even though the town's largest taxpayer, Greenville Steam Company, had its valuation decreased from $9.6 to $4.3 million During the early stages of drafting the municipal budget, Simko estimated that the town could gain about $6 million in new taxable property this year. But that figure has been revised significantly to $20 million based on recent findings by Bob Duplisea, the town's assessor. "People are moving more to the outskirts of town, so the rural areas are increasing in value. I don't anticipate anyone with a traditional in-town residence to see much of a tax increase and commercial property should also remain about the same," said Simko. So while some taxpayers will see an increase and others a decrease, the lower mil rate "is certainly some welcome news," said the town manager. Most department budget increases are due to salary raises and minor equipment purchases. The general government or town office account is up from $194,377 to $199,256; the fire department budget is up from $69,160 to $80,050; and the police department budget is up from $114,860 to $119,201. The public works department budget is down slightly from $220,850 to $21,7559. Some of the non-monetary issues on the town meeting warrant include an article that asks if residents want to enact a mandatory recycling program, whether they want to raise $6,900 to have a monthly curbside pickup of recyclable material and whether the town should spend $2,500 for recycling bins. Town officials are concerned about the life expectancy of the landfill which may have to close in less than 16 years and want to make contingency plans to extend its usefulness as long as possible. While some feel that residents may not embrace a mandatory recycling ordinance, others say that enacting the curbside pickup program and buying recycling bins could automatically encourage more residents to recycle. The $2.9 million school budget is about $50,000 higher than last year, mainly due to cost of living increases in health insurance and wages. School Union 60 lost a $76,000 isolation grant this year along with about $25,000 in state aid. Enrollment at Greenville High School and Nickerson Elementary School has remained stable this year, so no new positions were budgeted this year and one will remain unfilled for the upcoming school year. Supt. William R. Folsom said that his biggest concern about the budget is lack of money for building maintenance. "When we came out 74th out of 92 schools on the state's priority list for facilities upgrade, that was a pretty clear message," said Folsom. "We'll have to raise money locally to fix our buildings before small problems become big ones. |