News

By Dan Moffett

    Faced again with dipping into reserves to balance the budget, Ocean Ridge commissioners aren’t buying some things that town officials wanted for the next fiscal year.
    Police Chief Chris Yannuzzi isn’t going to get two new patrol cars, a savings of about $76,000. The commission wants the chief to find a way to keep the 5-year-old Ford cruisers scheduled for replacement running for one more year.
    Yannuzzi also isn’t going to get $38,500 to replace the outdated alarm system that connects 300 homes to the town dispatch center. Commissioners are hoping they can get a new system for $20,000 and save $18,500.
    The town’s maintenance workers are taking a hit, too. Commissioners said no to the purchase of a $3,000 golf cart for picking up trash.
    Down the road, no-see-ums  might be getting a reprieve, too. The commission said yes to renewing a $49,972 contract with Clarke Environmental Mosquito Management to spray against the pesky bugs. But Commissioner James Bonfiglio questioned whether that’s too much money, considering other budget demands.
    “I don’t mind spending money to keep my neighbors comfortable,” Bonfiglio said, “but when you start talking about budget items and saying I want to save $3,000 here, I want to save $5,000 there and $10,000 there, we’re spending an awful lot of money to make your lives a little more comfortable, just with the no-see-ums.”
    Mayor Geoffrey Pugh said it was unfortunate that the town has been unable to find another company willing to submit a competing bid for the spraying, and he criticized Clarke’s performance.
    “The efficacy of what they’ve been spraying was poor this last year,” Pugh said. “The service was poor. If there was somebody else we could go with, I’d probably want to award them the contract.”
    What stayed in the budget was $85,000 to hire another police officer — a response to complaints from some waterfront residents that misconduct on the town’s beaches warrants stricter enforcement. The additional officer won’t be assigned exclusively to beach patrolling, but will give the department more flexibility and manpower to watch over the beaches, commissioners believe.
    Commissioner Richard Lucibella opposed the hiring, saying he believed the department had adequate staffing. Lucibella also objected to spending $28,500 for a pickup, arguing that the town’s current truck still had life left in it.  “I may sound like the Grinch that stole Christmas,” said Lucibella, “but we need to make those hard, $20,000-at-a-time decisions.”
    But Pugh said the truck was “all rusted out underneath” and the town needed one four-wheel vehicle it could depend on during emergencies. The commission agreed and decided to buy a new one.
    Even with all the slashing and postponing purchases, Ocean Ridge will have to pull about $317,000 out of its reserves to balance the 2014-2015 budget.
    Commissioners kept the tax rate the same as last year at 5.35 during the Aug. 11 workshop, meaning a homeowner would pay $535 for each $100,000 of assessed property value.
    Because property values have gone up about 6 percent in the town over last year, total revenues for the new budget are up about $160,000.
    Public hearings on the proposed 2014-2015 budget are scheduled for 5 p.m. Sept. 9 and Sept. 16. Ú