Staff Writer
The Caribou City Council met Monday for a regular meeting during which the first order of business was to consider the appointment of Miles R. Williams to fulfill a vacant council seat through the end of 2011. As a result of the council receiving a letter of resignation from Councilor Karla Bell on Feb. 14. This council seat will be subject to election in November. Williams was sworn into the council by Jayne Farrin, city clerk.
Council members also voted to elect Chris Bell, councilor, to the title of deputy mayor for the remainder of 2011.
Aroostook Republican photo/Barb Scott
Caribou City Clerk Jayne Farrin swears in Miles ‘Rick’ Williams to the Caribou City Council prior to the regular council meeting on Monday. Williams was appointed to fill the council seat which became vacant upon the resignation of Councilor and Deputy Mayor Karla Bell. Bell submitted her resignation from the municipal council at the completion of the Feb. 14 meeting. During the March 14 meeting, the panel elected Councilor Chris Bell to the deputy mayor position.
City Manager Steve Buck provided a PowerPoint presentation prior to a public hearing session, regarding the 2011 capital improvements program (CIP) in which he showed the amendments and actions made by the CIP committee regarding municipal department reserve expenses. Through the presentation Buck showed the 2010 council amended program amounts for each department, the 2011 CIP department requests; 2011 CIP/council proposed amounts; and the proposed program amount versa the amended 2010 funding.
In summary the total project reserves/request totals for 2011 CIP were $665,715; 2011CIP/Council proposed amount was $530,420; the total proposed program amount compared to 2010 amendments is $133,030.
Considering limited funds for new or continued projects and the municipal debt service, the 2011 CIP is $754,931, an increase of $141,815 from 2010.
A motion was made by Bell and seconded by David Martin to accept the 2011 Capital Improvement Program as presented. Councilor Mark Goughan voted against the matter.
In compliance with the city charter which states that the municipal budget must be presented for consideration of adoption by the third Monday in March, Manager Buck, through a second PowerPoint presentation examined with the council (and others present) the history of work which had resulted in the budget offered for approval on Monday evening including comparison with 2010 budget items as well as comparison of each of the 2011 drafts regarding expense and revenue budget amounts.
Within the budget presentation it was noted that, “The council’s overall goal was to mitigate the loss of state and federal receipts and the current economic impacts upon the city’s budget to keep any increase in the net appropriations as small as possible while maintaining service provision.”
The proposed 2011 Caribou municipal budget is $8,734,598, a net increase of $116,247.13 (the initial budget was $416,224). This represents a 1.35 percent increase before adjusting for changes in revenue.
Following the budget explanation and public hearing session, a motion was made by Martin and seconded by Bell to adopt the 2011 municipal budget as proposed. Councilors voted in favor of this motion. Goughan voted against the motion.
“We’ve done what we had to do,” stated Bell. “We needed to act and we will continue to act on sharing the reductions without compromising the standard of services.”
Councilor Jon Boone also stated, “We are obligated to have this budget complete by the middle of June, but until them we will continue to look for any possible reductions.”
It is also in compliance with the city charter that the council may continue to amend the current budget up to the time of tax commitment, at the last meeting in June.
Residents with concerns or questions regarding the 2011 municipal budget should contact the city office.
