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Community Read: Investing in 'Nickel and Dimed'

23.02.12

�I work for Tedford Housing . Tedford provides shelter and housing with support services

Source: Bowdoin News

Author Ehrenreich recalls the 'good old days' of being poor

23.02.12

BRUNSWICK — Ten years after Barbara Ehrenreich cleaned the toilets of some of Maine's wealthiest residents while researching "Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America," the author returned to the state to reflect on how the plight of minimum-wage workers has changed.

Source: The Forecaster

Entertainment Briefs for Jan. 27, 2012

23.02.12

MSI announces free days

See interactive exhibits and experiment in the new Fab Lab at Chicago’s Museum of Science and Industry during free admission days this winter.

Source: Chicago Sun-Times

Council eyeing budget increase of two to three per cent

23.02.12

(BROCK TWP.) Brock Township taxpayers should expect a budget hike of about two to three per cent this year, but it's going to take a little more time for councillors to get there. After a marathon slate of meetings Monday -- which ran nearly a full 12 hours, including a few short breaks -- members of council trimmed this year's budget to an increase of 4.5 per cent. At the outset of the session, the increase sat at 6.83 per cent, with the bulk of the hike dedicated to yet another substantial rise in the Township's operating budget. Ward 3 councillor Walter Schummer noted that the operating side of the ledger has increased an average of eight per cent each year for the past nine years. As he led councillors through a brief overview of the budget, CAO/Clerk Thom Gettinby noted that the overall increase could be offset by drawing from the Township's rate stabilization fund, which was established in 2007 for that very purpose. "Even if nothing came out of the budget, we could get it down to 3.5 per cent," he said. "That's a Band-Aid solution," Coun. Schummer responded. "All we're doing is deferring a tax increase." Nearly $500,000 was drawn from reserves and reserve funds to finance this year's operational budget, with another $826,000 earmarked in the capital budget, which is slated to be discussed Friday (Feb. 10) at 8:30 a.m. Despite dipping into the coffers more than in previous years, treasurer Laura Barta told councillors that the Township still has roughly $4.5 million in reserves. As part of this year's budget preparations, staff compiled a 10-year capital forecast, which, in the words of Mr. Gettinby, will serve as a "road map to identify future priorities." Many of those priorities can be found in the works budget, with an estimated $17 million in repairs to local roads identified. "Bridges and culverts are going to be a major priority going forward," he said. "Needless to say, there's a serious infrastructure deficit in this municipality." Prior to the budget presentation, Mr. Gettinby told councillors that staff worked to balance the tightening purse strings of taxpayers with the needs of the municipality. "The budget before you is lean and from a staff perspective, there's little more that can be cut," he said. Keeping that in mind, members spent the next six hours going through the operational budget on nearly a line-by-line basis, making small cuts to bring projected numbers a little more in line with last year's figures. Some councillors commented about the budget being "nickel and dimed," but also noted that any potential savings need to be identified. "Those nickels and dimes all add up," Coun. Scummer said. Another $53,000 was pulled from reserves to fund operating expenses and specific maintenance projects to further lessen the blow to taxpayers. Of all the minor revisions made, two particularly stood out. First, councillors essentially capped the operating budgets for the Beaverton Thorah Community Centre and Cannington Community Centre to last year's figures, dropping more than $20,000 from the books. The operating budget for the Sunderland Memorial Arena remained untouched as it came in below the 2011 mark. Councillors then chopped another $15,000 that had been set aside for grants to organizations despite instituting a grant policy just a few short months ago. "We're not in the business of being a funding source for organizations," said regional councillor Debbie Bath. "We don't have money to give to the public -- not when we've got to pay for roads, culverts and bridges." Ward 1 councillor Mike Manchester responded by saying that the Township had just encouraged local groups to apply for funding, with a handful submitting a formal application. "We have a policy in place," he said. "Now it's (a question of) how much to spend and who is going to get it." Coun. Schummer said that simply because the municipality has a grant policy, doesn't mean it has to dole out grants each year. "There's no money for grants this year," agreed Mayor Terry Clayton. As the session came to a close just minutes before 10 p.m., more than $63,000 had been cut from the budget and more than $90,000 offset through using reserves and amending projected figures. While council didn't establish a formal target, many commented that this year's increase should be no higher than two- or three-per-cent. "The taxes are forcing people to move away from Brock and prevents others from moving here," Coun. Schummer said in an interview, proposing a target of under three per cent. Such an increase would be "more in line with inflation" noted Coun. Manchester, who suggested 2.5 per cent as a reasonable endpoint, a figure that Coun. Bath said she could support. But given the hefty price tag of the capital forecast that will be discussed on Friday, some felt that anything under three per cent would handcuff the municipality in future years. "I'd love to be under three per cent but I don't think that's a realistic, sustainable target. If we get there, I think we'll be in some trouble down the road," said Ward 5 councillor and finance committee chair Ted Smith. "Anything under that is going to cause issues with funding some of the larger projects we've identified," added Mayor Clayton.

Source: Kawartha Media Group