BYRNES MILL: Aldermen meet via Ma Bell
Conference call quorum addresses city budget
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| KEVIN CARBERY PHOTO Byrnes Mill officials huddled in the City Hall business office to conduct their May 21 Board of Aldermen meeting with the help of speaker phones. |
The cozy gathering was necessary because four of the town's six aldermen were out of town, but it was still necessary to gather a quorum for the meeting, Mayor Terry Oberer explained. Aldermen Grant MacLaren of Ward 2 and Glenn LaVenture of Ward 1 participated by speaker phone to allow the board to reach its required quorum of four, joining Jim McBroom of Ward 1 and Jerry Klipsch of Ward 2, who were present.
It was decided that, logistically, the business office was the right set-up for the conference call.Oberer said it was important to conduct the meeting even though several aldermen were not present because a public hearing on the city's proposed 2008-2009 budget needs to take place June 18. He said that although the board will have a regular meeting June 4, the May 21 gathering was the last regular meeting at which the aldermen could vote on the matter and still have the required notice posted for a June 18 public hearing.
"We've had to do this before," Oberer said. "We had to have a meeting in order to have enough lead time to the public hearing, as required by state statute."
All four of the participating aldermen gave their approval to scheduling a public hearing at 7 p.m. June 18 on Byrnes Mills' upcoming budget
Aldermen MacLaren, LaVenture, John Scheble and Devon Ising all had excused absences from the meeting, the mayor said.
As to the proposed Byrnes Mill budget, city administrator Bill Sehie said it looks to be similar to this year's. The 2007-2008 operating budget is $968,615 while the 2008-2009 proposal calls for an operating budget of $973,825, an increase of about one-half percent.
Sehie said that the nation's sluggish economy is affecting governmental bodies.
"We're feeling the pain," said Sehie, who indicated that sales tax income has been affected by the nation's overall economic situation. "It's a sign of the times."
Oberer said city officials are adapting to the situation.
"It is a balanced budget," he noted. "It's lean and there are no tax increases."
The city's sewer district budget is separate from the municipal operating budget, Sehie said. He reported that the projected sewer budget for 2008-2009 will actually be smaller than the current one, decreasing from $309,500 this year to $306,500 next year.
