By Morgan Pilz, Staff Writer

Administrator Fleetwood expects 5 percent decline in FY21 revenue

(April 16, 2020) Berlin government unveiled a $5.8 million general fund budget proposal for Fiscal Year 2021 Monday during its first virtual work session meeting.

The total reflects a drop in revenue, Town Administrator Jeff Fleetwood told mayor and council, as he expects the town to see 5 percent decline in income from FY 2019-20.

The general fund work session took place on Facebook live on Monday. Only nine people were allowed in the Town Hall conference room at any given time.

“We’re taking a conservative approach with revenues,” he said.

While the town hopes to see a $153,000 gain from assessment increases, a variety of other forms of income are expected to be reduced as a result of the impact of the coronavirus.

Fleetwood expects several delays or reductions in taxes as a result of the coronavirus, with property tax owners being able to delay their payments by up to six months.

“We might see a decrease due to late assessment extensions on the payments for all the property owners,” Financial Director Natalie Saleh said. “Also, there is in place three appeals for assess values totaling over $3 million within the town of Berlin to reduce the property values.”

In addition, Saleh said municipalities had been warned to expect a reduction in highway user revenues. The town is also expecting to see slots revenue reduced by $150,000 in the new fiscal year.

However, she was hopeful that taxes would be collected by the nearby hotels.

Earlier this month, Mayor Gee Williams announced that the town has abandoned plans for a previously discussed tax increase in an effort to ease the stress on property owners during the current economic crisis. The tax rate will remain at .80 per $100.

Most departments have looked at several factors to try and reduce costs as much as possible, the council was told. The administration budget, for instance, was estimated at slightly more than $1 million, but is expected to decrease by nearly 40 percent because “there was no capital outlay,” according to Fleetwood.

The police budget is set to increase by $54,000, or three percent, with Chief Arnold Downing reporting that this was because a building maintenance expense had been added to the budget along with a 9 percent pay increase for officers.

Fleetwood said he was happy with the wage increase for police officers, as he had advocated for it in previous meeting and had expressed concerns that Berlin officers were being paid far less than those in nearby municipalities.

“If the town is not safe, nothing is worth being here, not our homes not our businesses, nothing,” he said. “I think it’s [important] we move forward with this.”

The proposed budget included few changes for economic development and finance. Ivy Wells noted that the town has almost used up all of its $30,000 façade grant, which expires in fiscal year 2021. She said the balance will be used for a project that had begun but had to be halted as a result of covid-19.

As for the streets budget, the town is anticipating a 26 percent reduction in expenses. Fleetwood stressed, however, that some streets would still be paved, as prioritized by a street study the town completed years ago.

The next budget work session is expected to take place on Monday, April 27. Just like the session on Monday, it will not be open to the public and will take place via Facebook live.