Board of Aldermen — 3/21/17 Page 5
Alderman LeBrun
In lieu of all the questions and answers we just went through, it covered most of what | had to say, but | do
believe that this is something that we should wait until we get further into the budget process before we go any
further.
Alderman Cookson
A question through you to the Mayor please. Thank you. | just want to confirm, Mr. Mayor, that you said that
you haven't started working on the budget yet. Is that correct? It is notin a state that is ready to be
presented?
Mayor Donchess
| said | haven’t proposed it, but | have started working on it.
Alderman Cookson
Thank you. So the numbers with regard to the 20 police officers and the one fire station that you just
mentioned, are those actual numbers?
Mayor Donchess
When we did the exercise in December or November, whenever it was, and we asked departments as to how
they would handle a flat budget, those are the kinds of answers we got. As | pointed out with these four items,
$2 million for the pension, $400,000 for Pennichuck, a 11% electric rate, and if we want to actually make
money for the city by taking over the dam, those expenses already exceed the Cap. In order to get the budget
under the Cap with those four items, we would need to do more severe than a flat budget. We actually would
need to cut the budgets to some degree. Listening to what the departments said at the exercise, those are the
types of reductions they were talking about and what | am articulating is the result of that analysis.
Alderman Cookson
Are those worse case scenarios in your opinion?
Mayor Donchess
Yes.
Alderman Cookson
Are there other departments beyond public safety where savings could be recognized where it wouldn't
necessarily affect either police or fire that drastically?
Mayor Donchess
It’s hard to find millions of dollars in other departments because schools, police and fire are the vast majority of
the budget. One irony here is, and it’s a detail we really haven’t gotten into, again we’ve got this situation
where the wastewater fund is half under the Cap and half isn’t. If the entire wastewater fund was under the
Cap, at least this year, the wastewater fund is going to go down a million dollars. But the part that goes down
is outside the Cap. A million dollars wouldn’t solve the problem, but it is sort of interesting that there is that
irony there.
