Alton may not have funds for '07 problems

Town leaders say they’re probably going to have to tap into Alton’s $2.4-million undesignated fund balance to balance the 2008 town budget.

At last night’s selectmen’s meeting in the Town Hall, Town Administrator Russell Bailey recommended the move largely because of expenses incurred after a tornado swept through the area Thursday, July 24. Many homes in the area were damaged, as was public property (streets), by falling trees and other debris.

“It’s going to push us into the red,” Bailey told the selectmen. “And we were already headed there. We were moving in that direction because of the winter storms and the cost of sand and salt.”

Bailey said he was not yet sure how much of the surplus funds might be needed but Chairman Alan Sherwood explained that as much as 80 or 85-percent of the money could eventually be reimbursed if the town receives Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) money. Bailey said the town has applied for $161,951 in FEMA funds.

“We’re now waiting to find out what is (considered) eligible,” the administrator said. “When we find out, we’ll (also) find out what the timeline is… If we receive money January 1 or later, it goes into the fund surplus and we have to deal with the (tornado damage) issues as part of this year’s funding budget.”

Sherwood said that if that occurs the town will have to get special approval from the N.H. Department of Revenue Administration and the support of the Budget Committee to use the undesignated funds to pay for the work that needs to be done this year.

Bailey said that if the FEMA are approved, town workers will do most of the repair work on municipal facilities but federal crews might do some of the asphalt road restoration work.

The tornado and the winter storm damage has not been the only drain on the town’s budget in 2007, he added.

“We’ve had the legal issues with the cell tower that keeps going up (in costs),” he said, referring to a private company that’s suing the town over it decision to deny it a cell tower building permit.

“And we had the fire on Mount Major (this summer),” said selectmen Bill Curtin. That stubborn multi-day blaze cost Alton about $18,000, he recalled.

Bailey also mentioned two additional cost items the town incurred recently. A lighting strike caused electrical damage to the building several weeks ago; insurance will pay most of the $8,000 repair costs but the town will have to pay the $1,000 deducible. And a Highway Department excavator that was vandalized will cost more than $13,000 to repair; again, the town needs to pa the $1,000 insurance deductible, Bailey said.