Council budget session

So-called "special items," appropriations made to more than a dozen non-profit and charitable organizations, came in for special treatment when the City Council made its first pass through the 2006 -2007 budget last night. The work session followed the scheduled public hearing on the budget, which drew only one speaker.

Councilor Henry Lipman opened the discussion by suggesting the council follow a "different strategy" in distributing the largesse. Referring to the number and nature of calls for service reported by the police and fire departments, along with the increase in the welfare budget, he proposed directing the funds to those agencies that addressed the problems weighing on municipal departments. In particular, he said that the city should consider supporting efforts to deal with drug and alcohol abuse, which according to police is a major source of crime and disorder.

Councilor Brenda Baer (Ward 4) questioned why the city appropriated $16,000 for fireworks — $10,000 to the Laconia Kiwanis Club and $6,000 to the Weirs Action Committee — but nothing at all to Genesis Behavioral Health. Alluding to the appropriation of $24,500 to the New Hampshire Humane Society NHHS), Councilor Bob Luther (Ward 2) remarked that "the city spends $25,000 protecting its cats and dogs but nothing to protect its people. That's strange." City Manager Eileen Cabanel explained that the city contracted with the NHHS to deal with strays in order to ease the burden on the police.

Councilor Bob Hamel (Ward 5) asked about the Laconia Trails with Rails project (LTREK) and Laconia Main Street program, each of which receive $20,000. Cabanel explained that Laconia Main Street required a municipal appropriation in order to qualify for recognition in the state and national Man Street programs. Lipman pointed out that the program played a key role in economic development efforts, especially downtown, adding "I think it's a little too early to turn off the spigot."

The only casualty of the debate was the Appalachian Mountain Teen Project, which was slated to get $3,000. Hamel noted that "it serves 12 kids and is based in Wolfeboro" while Lipman suggested the funds should be directed to Genesis, which turned out to be night's big winner. Along with the $3,000, Genesis, which started the evening with nothing, wound up with $8,000 when the council transferred $5,000 from the salary line of the welfare budget.

Although the other organizations escaped unscathed, the council agreed that some — including New Beginnings, Child and Family Services, Youth Service-Upswing, Human Relations Committee, Laconia Kiwanis Club, Weirs Action Committee and the Youth Services Bureau — should be advised that there is no assurance of funding in the future.

NOTES: Councilor Armand Bolduc (Ward 6), the mayor pro-tem, presided at last night's public hearing and work session on the budget in the absence of mayor Matt Lahey. . . The council shuffled money around the budget without fundamentally changing the bottom line. The welfare budget was by $15,000. Genesis Behavioral Health received $5,000; $3,000 was transferred to Code Enforcement for property code maintenance and $7,000 to Parks & Recreation to restore playing fields. The Motorcycle Week budget of $229,.000, along with the projected revenues from the rally, was taken out of the general fund operating budget to become a special capital reserve fund. In the capital outlay budget, $15,000 for vehicle replacement was shifted from the Department of Public Works to Parks & Recreation to purchase a second-hand half-ton pickup truck. . . . . .The lone speaker at the public hearing on the budget, which preceded the council's work session, was Niel Young, who sired the tax cap. "There isn't much to say this year," he told the councilors. "The City Manager has stayed within the tax cap. Now it's up to you to stay within the tax cap and you're elected and she isn't," he remarked, adding "I'm not threatening."