By Dave Fidlin
While a number of issues still remain up in the air, the Town of Waterford Sanitary District No. 1 (WSD) is moving forward with a minted 2014 budget.
Commissioners last week approved a previously published budget proposal that reflects an overall 1.17 percent decrease in WSD’s budget. In 2013, WSD’s revenue and expenditures totaled $989,553; in the upcoming year, the figure is set at $978,000.
Commissioners took action on the budget at their Oct. 9 monthly meeting. A public hearing was held beforehand, but no one spoke either for or against the budget as proposed.
After the budget hearing, commissioners then voted unanimously in favor of the budget as proposed.
The WSD budget currently provides for quarterly user fees remaining the same in 2014.
WSD Board President Dan Dickinson recently stated he believes user rates continue to remain excessively high within WSD. He said the issue remains under review and will be taken up as staffing and operational changes are ironed out.
Structurally, there are a number of line item changes to the 2014 budget, in year-to-year comparisons.
One of the most significant involves the administration portion of the budget – a direct result of the abrupt departure July 28 of longtime WSD Administrator Debbie Nelson.
In 2014, commissioners have trimmed the administration budget by more than 75 percent. Last year’s budget allocated $110,214 toward administrative staffing and associated expenses. This year, the category is reduced to $27,413.
But a separate category, known as administration services, is increasing 133 percent – a result of a shift in how WSD is doing business, with the outsourcing of some back office functions to KJ Tax and Accounting.
A third category, known as administration operating, is decreasing 30 percent, from $39,025 in 2013 to $27,100 in 2014.
All told, Dickinson said the administration portion of the budget – based on the three separate categories – is set to decrease by 28 percent.
When KJ Tax and Accounting was brought into the fold this summer, commissioners touted the new arrangement as a cost-savings measure.
At the Oct. 9 meeting, Dickinson said WSD continues to refine its operations plan. KJ Tax and Accounting was hired to perform such tasks as customer billing, accounting and bookkeeping.
But an in-house staff person will still be needed to assume some of Nelson’s duties for various tasks, including responding to customer inquiries, maintaining the WSD website and handling all of the tasks associated with WSD’s meetings.
Other year-over-year changes to the budget include a few planned technical equipment purchases in 2014. The list includes a number of different types of grinder pumps.
This year, WSD allocated $44,390 toward the expense; in 2014, the District plans to spend $56,230 in the equipment upgrades.
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