Camden council seeks guidance from town citizens on budget deficits

With Camden’s town budget approximately $388,000 in the red, town leaders Aug. 9 looked to those who put them in office to help find a way out of the crisis.

“This meeting is to gather with everyone and ask, ‘What do you think, what’s our best course of action?’” Town Manager James Plumley said before the session got underway.

Eighty-seven town residents or business owners came to the two-hour meeting, held at the town fire hall.

Plumley said Camden has projected $2.37 million in revenue for the fiscal year that began July 1, but anticipates almost $2.41 million in expenses, a difference of approximately $38,000.

The town manager also included in the deficit $350,000, the asking price for the former town hall and former police station, which the town has been unable to sell.

The town charter does not require Camden to pass a balanced budget, as the state and several other municipalities, such as the city of Dover, are bound to do, he said.

Officially billed as a workshop to “provide public input on deficit reduction,” town officials targeted three areas for consideration: tax rate adjustments, changes in business license fees and staffing changes involving the town’s 20 employees, 12 of who make up the police force.

The town manager said before the meeting he did not anticipate cutting so much — almost 16% — from town spending would be easy to accomplish.

Many suggestions

With Councilman Jeff Lewin moderating the event, the first 45 minutes were taken up with questions regarding the state of town finances. Most of those present recognized the deficit was the result of overexpansion and overspending during prior years without considering the pitfalls in the event the economy went into a nosedive.

Plumley noted it was his goal such mistakes not be repeated in the future.

Camden Mayor Richard Maly reminded the group it was not time to dwell on the past.

“One thing we ask: please look to the future,” he said. “Criticism of past events are not solutions to the problem we’re trying to solve.”

The search for viable answers meant “everything is on the table now,” Lewin said.

At first, questions revolved around one of the town’s largest expenses, its police force, with suggestions ranging from cutting the number of vehicles, to allowing state police to patrol the town during certain hours, to cutting positions to a part-time status.

Salaries for the police are expected to take up almost $667,000 in the next budget.

However, later in the session most of those present acknowledged that while the force could find ways to trim its budget, cutting manpower would be a wrong move.

With Lewin keeping track, audience members made a number of suggestions, including:

• Greater efforts at collecting delinquent taxes.
• Generating revenue from leasing out space in the town hall/police station.
• Setting up an Alderman’s Court to process traffic citations and fines.
• Raising taxes equally across the board.
• Reassessing salary increases.
• Reassessing the number of police vehicles.
• Requiring town employees to take furloughs.
• Promoting volunteerism to handle tasks town employees otherwise would do.
• Holding yard sales in the town hall parking lot, and charge $10 per table.
• Better code enforcement and fee collections for violations.
• Not renewing rental licenses until all back fees are paid.

Bev Knight, proprietor of Knight’s Fine Jewelry, addressed Maly and council members directly when she urged them to “look inside the box” for solutions, just as she has done in keeping her business solvent in the current economy.

“Living within your means is really where it all starts,” she said. Control what goes on inside the walls of town hall, and council members won’t need to look outside for revenue, Knight said.

Maly and the town council took no votes on any of the suggestions, saying all would be considered.

The ideas aired at the workshop will be come agenda items to be discussed at the town’s September or October council meetings.

Afterward, Maly said he was encouraged by the number of people who showed up, and encouraged similar participation at other town meetings and functions.

Email Jeff Brown at jeff.brown@doverpost.com.