Budget discussions continue to occur
By Caitlyn Kelleher JOURNAL REPORTER

The Ashburnham Selectmen and Advisory Board members discussed how to meld the expected deficit in the FY09 budget with expected free cash and the ability to meet future goals.

The last-minute shifting of funds before the Annual Town Meeting in May to cover the school's debt assessment that was left out of the town's budget during the budgeting process caused Selectmen Chairman Christopher Gagnon to want to review the status of the budget. The town officials are going to have to ask voters to appropriate money from free cash in the fall to cover the deficit.

The other questions that were raised focused more on the rest of free cash and how to start appropriating money for the upcoming FY2010.

"I, frankly, don't know how we're going to make ends meet," Selectman Jonathan Dennehy said.

He said it should be clear to all that no part of the budget is "sacred or safe."

Advisory Board Chairman Bill Johnson said he thought that a policy decision should be made to commit the money that comes in from the collection of back taxes to the stabilization account.

"We're digging our hole deeper as time goes on," he said of using a limited revenue source to support the operating budget.

Town Account Jim Shanahan said that wasn't so much a concern because there will always be back taxes to collect.

"I've never seen it dry up," he said.

He and Interim Town Administrator Paul Boushell expressed concern about taking a vote or creating a policy that would restrict the use of that money. They said the boards would then be "handcuffed" in the future.

"I think we need to be handcuffed," Johnson said.

Dennehy said that there also has to be the thought process that some things might get cut if that is done.

"We have to understand that some of the things we want to buy, we aren't going to be able to do," he said.

One of the goals the members of the boards agreed on was that there should be $50,000 set aside in the fall to cover overages in heating costs and gasoline.

"So you can judge how well the department is using their fuel," Dennehy said.

Johnson said that they should have instituted a rule that stated department heads were not allowed cut their utilities as part of overall reductions. He said he knows that some department heads did that this year as they were planning for FY09 and that concerned him.

"The departments that did that should not get a free pass," he said.

Selectman Margaret Whitney said she would like a spending freeze in place for the July 1 start of the fiscal year. Boushell has already implemented one for the end of the year and he said he would implement a similar one at the end of June for July.

In other business:

• Selectmen got into a yelling match after bring up an e-mail exchange with former Selectman Mark Carlisle over celebrating the return of Town Administrator Kevin Paicos.

Carlisle asked the Selectmen if they had plans for formally celebrate Paicos' safe return to town after the year he spent serving in Afghanistan as a member of the National Guard. Gagnon said there shouldn't be a formal reorganization of Paicos unless all returning town residents are recognized.

"I think it would be an insult," Gagnon said.

Gagnon said the Selectmen have not heard officially when Paicos is returning to duty even though there have been some e-mails exchanged.

The argument then took a turn toward discussing the ability to misunderstand the tone and the meanings of e-mails.

• Selectmen approved the change of the liquor license at Tweedo's Variety at the intersection of Dunn and Depot roads from a wine and malt liquor license to that of a full package store.

Tweedo's owner Tim Fissette worked over the course of the last year to get a home-rule petition passed through the Legislature to allow Ashburnham's Selectmen to grant this license. The town has two other liquor stores, Mr. Mike's in South Ashburnham and Wine & Spirits in the center of town.

• The Town Hall offices will probably be closed for three half-days to finish moving the offices from the temporary quarters at the back of Oakmont Regional High School to the now renovated Town Hall.

Boushell said the tentative schedule would be to close at the high school at noon on Thursday, June 19, remain closed on Friday, June 20, and reopen at the Town Hall around 1 p.m. on Monday, June 23.