letter to the residents....

 by Jolene Jeffe, Town Supervisor.

"Budget for Town is Difficult During Economic Hardships..." 

Accounting and budgeting – not two of the most exciting topics but they are two important ones in these tough economic times.   This may bring back bad memories of sleep-inducing high school or college accounting classes.  For that I am sorry!  However, I thought you may find it interesting to see how your town budget is similar and differs from the home and business budgets you are familiar with. 

Yes, a town budget is like your home or business budget in that there is income (revenues) and expenses (appropriations).  That is really where the similarities end!  The biggest difference is the introduction of the concept of a ‘fund’.  Aurora’s budget has 3 primary funds: General Fund, Town Outside the Village Fund, and Highway Fund.  Each fund is financed with the taxes paid by the citizens utilizing those services.   For example, the General Fund includes all the services that both town and village residents pay taxes toward and benefit from such as the Building, Assessor, and Recreation departments.  The Town Outside the Village Fund is supported by taxes paid by non-village residents and primarily consists of public safety including the payment for police services.  The Highway Fund is also supported by residents in the town outside the village as the Department of Public Works serves the village.

The equation we work with in each fund is simple: appropriations – revenues = taxes.  As we begin our 2011 budgeting process, each decision will be plugged into this equation to measure its impact.  The only way to maintain or lower taxes is to increase revenues or decrease appropriations.

The Aurora Town Board is facing many financial challenges for the next several years.  Some are completely at the control of others and some may be avoided or minimized through planning. 

Our greatest challenge is budgeting for the shift in costs of the police services from the village to the town outside the village.  Since 2007, when the Police Service Agreement was implemented, the fund balance in the town outside the village has been almost depleted. Without a fund balance, each dollar increase in costs (appropriations) will result in an increase in taxes.  Hence, the Town’s recent decision to end the current Police Service Agreement with the village in an effort to obtain fiscal decision-making input and provide a ‘voice’ for town residents.  Our second challenge will be coping with costs associated with the debt service required to pay for 300 Gleed Avenue over the planned period of five years.  These two issues, combined with the inevitable decreases in revenues from New York State and Erie County and increases in pension and benefit costs, create a difficult task for this new Town Board as we develop our first budget.

  Unfortunately, there are very few ways to raise non-tax revenues, however, you can be certain we will be ‘turning over every stone’ to find them.  We began the year with a reduction in the staffing in my office and will continue to find ways to reduce costs while making every effort to continue to maintain the level of service you have come to appreciate.