October 28, 2010

Hampton sets spending plan

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L ast year, the Hampton Town Board was able to cut its spending plan generously.

The board is paying for that this year, but there is still an overall decrease for the past two years.

The 2011 spending plan for the town of Hampton, approved by the board at its Oct. 20 meeting, calls for a $6,645 increase in the amount to be raised by taxes.

“We did a 6 percent decrease last year, but I think know that we cut a little too deep,” said Town Supervisor Don Sady. “I feel that this budget can offset that cut and we can run a tight ship from now on.”

The biggest increase in the 2011 budget is a sum of $10,500 that will go toward the Hampton Volunteer Fire Department, upping its contribution to the department from $14,500 this year to $25,000 in 2011.

“The raise to the fire department has really been a couple of years overdue,” said Sady. “That being said, anyone out there would like to give whatever they could to the fire department, but in these tough economic times, we are only able to do what we can.”

Overall, spending is down across the board in the 2011 budget. However, so are revenues and the amount of money that will be transferred from unexpended fund balances to help offset the budget.

The overall appropriations for the town in 2011 total $351,230, down from an amount of $368,810 in 2010. The general budget saw a decrease in spending of $19,427 (from $139,317 to $119,427), while the highway budget saw a decrease of $18,653 (from $220,653 to $202,000).

Overall revenues dropped by a total of $300, from $49,900 to $49,600. The biggest drop came in the amount contributed from unexpended balances, which dropped in the general fund from $66,622 in 2010 to $25,000 in 2011. The highway department unexpended fund balance increased from $18,353 to $25,000, for a total 2011 unexpended balance contribution of $50,000, down from $84,975 in 2010.

The amount to be raised by taxes in the 2011 budget was set at $251,630, up from the total of $244,895 in 2010, an overall increase of $6,645, or 2.64-percent.

“We have done pretty much the best that we can,” said Sady. “I think that we have a nice budget here.”