LITCHFIELD — Skyrocketing costs for materials and to maintain equipment, coupled with the supply-chain issues brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, are driving some of the expense increases facing municipal officials here as a proposed budget gets reviewed.
Most departments showed only slight increases, but the proposed fire and rescue budget includes a $25,500 increase over the previous budget, primarily due to regulatory compliance costs and the increased cost of materials.
During a meeting Monday, Litchfield Fire Chief Michael Sherman noted that prices are up across the board, and that includes the fire department, but he was shocked to learn just how much it costs to maintain some equipment.
“One filter for one of these repairs absolutely doubled in cost,” Sherman said. “It was over $300 for one single filter for one of the maintenance items on one of these pumps.
Regulatory compliance alone increased by $7,500 over last year. The proposed budget also included a new $8,000 line for personal protective equipment, which Sherman said includes turnout gear, structural firefighting gear, forestry gear, vests, hard hats and glasses.
Altogether, the requested amount for the 2022-23 year is $145,050. Last year, $119,550 was appropriated.
The truck repair line is at $13,000, a $4,000 increase over what was appropriated last year. And though $9,000 was appropriated for the previous budget, the actual amount spent as of Feb. 27 was $17,909.
Sherman said the majority of that figure represents very nearly what it costs just to keep trucks compliant. He said there were only about three instances in which the trucks needed actual repairs, and each situation was minor and less than $1,000.
The chief was asked if the regulatory compliance increase of $7,500 was all mandatory, and he said it was.
When asked how many were part of the department, Sherman said 23 are currently part of the fire department, adding that one was just recently hired and that he has an upcoming interview with another potential member soon.
The emergency services budget proposal of $49,937 only increased by $1,374 over the previous budget year. The only line in the budget that increased is for dispatching.
Town Manager Kelly Weissenfels said this increase is due to an increase in the town’s dispatching contract.
The Rec Department’s proposed $19,050 budget increased by $949 over the previous year, with a $1,000 addition to the recreation director’s salary and a $71 reduction for field maintenance.
Recreation Director Tiffany Caton said during the meeting that the salary increase was suggested by the town manager.
Weissenfels said the salary increase was based on Caton’s improvement of communication in the town and the value provided to the town through the department’s services.
“And the fact that the recreation director line item has been the same for several years,” Weissenfels continued. “If you work out the hours, it’s just above minimum wage.”
The proposed cemeteries budget of $9,590 represents a $1,950 increase over the previous year; $1,250 of that increase was due to a drought and a change of contractor, and also to ensure enough was available as the expense can vary from year to year.
The Plains Cemetery line item also increased by $700, which Weissenfels said was due to the Litchfield Plains Cemetery Association informing the town that it had been absorbing some of the maintenance costs. The figure includes $300 for veteran grave care and $400 for lot maintenance.
The $8,500 proposed budget for the town newsletter shows only a $700 increase over the previous budget due to increases in printing and postage.
The proposed budget for the Gardiner Public Library of $25,609 increased by $1,571 over last year. Because the Gardiner Library Association owns the building and property and takes care of necessary upgrades and renovations, Library Director Justin Hoenke said money provided to the facility from Litchfield only funds services offered at the facility.
Hoenke said one of the facility’s goals in the upcoming year is to build on digital services to accommodate patrons who do not want to physically visit the library. This includes a cloud library through the Maine State Library with access to historical library microfiche archives, access to e-books and audiobooks through cellphones and tablets, and Hoopla, which is a Netflix-like streaming services for libraries that allows patrons to borrow electronic media, including comic books and music, 15 times per month.
The senior center was the last area of the budget discussed on Monday. Its proposed budget of $21,200 increased by $4,664 over last year, the bulk of which allows for the rental of the Sportsmen’s Club to accommodate activities that require a larger space such as line dancing, Tai chi and band.
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