News

Proposed Town Budget: What makes the difference!
By: Mitchell A. Berkowitz, Gray Town Manager

Gray's budget is set up to make understanding it easier. Still, the key points must be emphasized. This article deals with the proposed expenses, both operational [ day to day ] and capital [vehicles, buildings, bridges etc ]

Proposed Change from	FY 2005-2006	Current Year
Operations	$3,820,616	+$219,338
Capital	$1,178,100	+$131,815
Total Increase:		+$351,153

Why an increase and for what?

Expenses of the town did increase. Here are the areas and reasons for these increases:

Debt Service $74,647- Two year note for the salt shed
General Insurance $6,126
PWD Sand and Salt $14,600- Material increases
Recycling/Solid Waste $62,589- Increase costs through the Regional Waste System
Personnel & insurance $33,569- Reflects health insurance increase
Other operational changes $27,806*- Supplies, materials, energy
Capital Expenses $131,815
$351,153

*Some of the department budgets may actually have gone down but the net is an increase.

Capital Expenditures:

Fire trucks- Squad #6 due for change out in 2002. Engine #1- 1981 vintage to be replaced- $390,000
PWD- Reflects cost of replacement of front loader- same classification size- $134,000
Technology- annual computer software and hardware replacements and reserves- $81,600
Libby Hill- Equipment purchases to maintain trails in cooperation with private groups- $2,000
Wilkies Beach improvements- $2,500
Bridges- Combines with previous funding for Knights, Hunts Hill and Mayall Bridges- $167,000
Street Recon/Pave- Annual work on specific list of local roads- $316,000
Transfer Station Fence- Install North lot line fence for safety and security- $6,000
Newbegin Work- Bathrooms, Gym Floor, outdoor platform- $17,000
Stimson Hall- Paint exterior of building & Establish a reserve $40,000
Voting Machines- Forced replacement and purchase of three new machines- $19,500
Monitoring Wells- In cooperation with GWD adding an additional monitoring well- $2,500

TOTAL: $1,178,100