Rec coordinator’s raise a bone of contention

By Connor Linskey
Posted 4/28/21

At the Walden Village Board meeting last Tuesday, the budget for the 2021-2022 fiscal year was adopted with a 5-2 vote. Trustees Lynn Thompson and Brian Sebring opposed adoption of the budget because …

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Rec coordinator’s raise a bone of contention

Posted

At the Walden Village Board meeting last Tuesday, the budget for the 2021-2022 fiscal year was adopted with a 5-2 vote. Trustees Lynn Thompson and Brian Sebring opposed adoption of the budget because of a hefty raise to recreation coordinator Michael Bliss.

In the new fiscal year, Bliss will earn $85,691, which is a $15,000 pay increase from the current fiscal year. Bliss also earns a yearly salary of $18,000 as a part-time Town of Montgomery recreation director.

“I think the majority of the budget items were reasonable, sound, fiscally prudent...,” Thompson said. “That one request [recreation coordinator’s salary increase] was so outrageous to me, obviously I took a stand on it.”

She noted that the salary increase is an issue, as it will put a burden on the taxpayers.

“My obligation is to the almost 7,000 people who reside in this village,” Thompson said. “I have to focus on the whole and when there’s something that’s really disturbing or really egregious or outrageous, I can’t worry about one individual. I have to worry about the implications for the people that I represent in our village.”

Sebring also believed that the majority of the budget was fair, with the exception of the line for Bliss’ salary.

“I just couldn’t see awarding anybody that kind of pay raise, when everybody else got lower amounts,” Sebring said. “He does a good job, however nobody deserves that kind of pay raise… It hurts the taxpayers, it hurts the other employees of the village that didn’t get that kind of raise.”

Residents have also voiced their frustrations regarding Bliss’ pay increase.

“It’s just ludicrous to give such a large raise and will certainly set precedent for future employees to ask for the same,” said former Walden Mayor Becky Pearson. “People are struggling to stay in Walden, maintain their homes and pay taxes. It [the pay raise] is sickening and a disgrace to the Walden community.”

Unlike Bliss, most employee salaries remain largely unchanged from the current fiscal year. For the upcoming fiscal year, the trustees and deputy mayor will earn $6,375, which is a pay increase of $125. The mayor will earn $7,905, which is a pay increase of $155 from this year. In the upcoming fiscal year, John Revella will earn a pay increase of slightly more than $2,000, bringing his salary up to $108,718.

The treasurer will make $72,239, which is a pay increase of approximately $3,500. Village Clerk Marisa Kraus will earn $58,958, which is a pay raise of a little more than $1,000. Justice Raynard Ozman will earn a pay increase of roughly $454 next year, bringing his salary up to $23,143. Longtime Police Chief Jeffry Holmes retired last July and his replacement William Herlihy will earn approximately $5,000 less. The superintendent of highway superintendent will earn a pay increase of approximately $1,000.

The total appropriations for this year’s budget is $11,114,778, which is down approximately $500,000 from the 2020-2021 budget. Debt service is down more than $700,000 from last year. Employee benefits are down about $150,000 from the 2020-2021 fiscal year.

The amount to be raised by property taxes for village operations in the new fiscal year is $5,007,724. The percent increase in the tax levy is 0.93 percent and the tax cap rate is 2.58 percent, whereas the 2020-2021 tax cap rate was 2.09 percent. The tax rate per $1,000 of assessed valuation is 17.3619, whereas that figure for the 2020-2021 adopted budget was 17.2729.

In addition, the amount to be raised by property taxes for public library services is $414,441, an increase of $7,700. The percent increase in the library tax levy is 1.89 percent. Also, the tax rate per $1,000 of assessed valuation for public library services is 1.44021, a slight uptick from last year.

The funding for the board of trustees personal services is $38,250, which is a two percent increase from the 2020-2021 fiscal year. Likewise, the village justice personal services budget saw a slight increase of 3.03 percent from this year. Also, the mayor’s personal services fund is $7,905, which is a two percent uptick from the 2020-2021 fiscal year.

The village manager’s personal services budget is up 2.2 percent from the current fiscal year. In addition, the treasurer’s personal services budget is up 4.34 percent from 2020-2021. Clerk personal services are also up, from $57,691 to $58,958.

The upcoming fiscal year’s building maintenance budget is up 30.83 percent. In addition, funding for police personal services is down 5.44 percent from the current fiscal year. The police department’s overtime is $120,000, which is down 20 percent. Funding for ammunition and weapons is up 15.38 percent, while the budget for safety is down 63.5 percent.

Many residents will be thrilled that an additional 18.18 percent is funded for park maintenance beautification. In addition, $8,500 is budgeted for maintenance of Bradley Park, which is up 46.84 percent from the current fiscal year. An additional 57.26 percent is budgeted for Wooster Grove Park in Walden.

State retirement as well as fire and police retirement benefits are up. Water administration personal services is down 9.91 percent. Power and pumping testing has doubled from fiscal year 2020-2021 to 2021-2022.

Sewer administration personal services are down 11.56 percent from fiscal year 2020-2021. Funding for structural maintenance in the upcoming year’s sewer fund is down approximately eight percent.

Personal services for the library fund are up 4.66 percent from fiscal year 2020-2021. However, funding for materials and supplies is $32,000, which is down $5,000 from this year. The budget for library equipment maintenance is down slightly while funding for building maintenance is up. $12,000 is budgeted for library program expenses, which is down from this year’s amount of $14,000.

The 2021-2022 budget features many capital projects. This includes a new sewer plant generator, Walker Street reconstructions from Route 52 to First Street including curbing and Utility Pole Replacement at Edmunds Lane Pump Station. The grand totals for the capital projects is $4,179,513.

Village Manager John Revella spoke highly of the new budget.

“Overall, I’m happy with the tax rate,” he said. “We didn’t have to do anything else crazy. We kept it pretty safe and concise. We cut in some places and increased a couple places based upon the needs of the village and the people, so overall I’m happy with it.”

Revella declined to comment on Bliss’ salary increase.