by Jay Lawson
The Town of Webb Board adopted the town’s Operating Budget for 2016 on Monday, November 2, after conducting a public hearing.
Estimates Revenues for the General Fund are $2,375,700. This is an increase of $30,695 from 2015.
General Fund Allocations are $6,531,851, an increase of $89,065 from 2015.
General Fund Balance applied to offset taxes will be unchanged from 2015 at $1,200,000.
The General Fund Amount to be Raised by Taxes is $2,956,151—an increase of $58,370.
Notable specifics in the General Revenues column include the following:
Sales Tax revenue is unchanged at $1 million.
Snowmobile Fees are projected to bring in an additional $50,000 for $675,000 total.
McCauley Mountain fee revenues are expected to increase by $25,000 at $325,000.
Unclassified revenues are expected to decrease to $135,000—a $52,855 drop.
Notables in the 2016 General Allocations column are as follows:
The Town Board allocation has increased by $10,510 to $34,486, mainly to cover the second year of a Shuttle Grant Match.
The Town Attorney’s allocation was decreased by $50,000 to $40,000 in 2016.
The Contingency allocation was reduced by $50,000 to $150,000.
The Police allocation went to $446,300, an $11,000 increase.
Snow Patrol went up $6,600 to $39,100.
The Health Officer allocation was dropped a thousand dollars to $0.
Bti was increased by $8,405 to $65,980.
An Ambulance line was added to the budget for 2016. This $200,000 allocation will contribute to funding new Advanced Life Support positions, that will give 24/7 response capability to the Old Forge Ambulance Corps in serving the Town of Webb.
The Professional Offices allocation will be $27,670, a $1,330 decrease.
A new Senior Recreation line will provide $17,710 for a two-day a week program to include meals.
North Street Park will receive an increase of $24,062 in funds, $20,000 of which will be kept in reserve for a possible skating rink expansion. Monies are also included for light pole replacement at the Allen Stripp Soccer Field. The total for North Street Park will be $63,122 in 2016.
Parks and Recreational will receive $5,672 in additional funding for a 2016 total of $135,072.
McCauley funding will decrease by $31,825 to $643,604 in 2016.
Recreation will be funded at $52,530 in 2016, a $3,770 decrease.
Kinderwood funding will go up $2,000 to $6,000.
CAP-21 will stay at $10,000.
View will increase by $3,250 to $6,000.
Snowtrails will decrease by $39,160 to $486,748. This reflects a groomer purchase made in 2015. But offsetting some of this reduction is the planned purchase of a pickup truck and $50,000 being placed in a new equipment reserve.
This reserve fund will be utilized for a future groomer for the department.
Also, $50,000 has been added for a garage addition to the Trails Department building. The addition was requested by Tim Pylman and will allow more space with higher ceiling height that would allow for an eventual lift and better heavy equipment maintenance.
Zoning will decrease by $7,459 to $198,878.
Planning will decrease by $10,000 to $21,000.
Landfill includes a reserve amount of $12,000 for a trailer purchase.
Refuse/Garage includes a $75,000 amount for a garbage truck purchase.
Invasive Species will go up $2,500 to help fund an eradication effort at Okara Lakes.
The NYS Retirement allocation will decrease by $95,336 to $262,979.
The Police and Fire Retirement allocation will decrease by $3,404 to $61,308.
The Social Security allocation will drop $3,780 to $168,000.
Workers Comp will increase $5,600 to $125,000.
Medical Insurance will increase $82,000 to $952,000.