North Beach passes budget, tax rate, raises

Friday, June 12, 2009

When considering the property tax rate, council member Lyn Striegel said, "We're facing assessments in a bad economy and it'll cause us to run short."

Council member Randy Hummel reminded the town of when property assessments went down in the early 1990s from the late 1980s. "It does happen. I don't see the bottom yet," he added.

Council member Gregg Dotson, who said he was opposed to the current tax rate, added, "But during this economy, it's probably not wise to reduce the rate."

Dotson was the only council member opposing the budget and pay raises that amounted to a total increase of $41,000 for the town staff, including maintenance workers.

Town attorney John Shay said it's the first time in a long time that the town staff has received salary increases.

"Some have not had a raise in 10 years," he said.

Dotson said that there was no matrix in place to qualify the salary raises so he did not support it. Shay answered that the raises were based on recommendations of performance, adding that the town has saved money through the treasurer and clerk's aggressive money management and earned funds through grants.

The FY2010 $2 million budget includes $480,240 in general debt, $433,180 in public works, $328,148 in public safety and $246,465 in administrative costs.

During the public hearing on the budget before the voting, the only citizen who spoke out against the budget and the town's salary increases was Dotson's wife, Chris Dotson.

She asked the council to cut spending and not take the higher tax rate and questioned the council about the pay increases.

"Are we getting our money's worth? What are you hiding?" Chris Dotson asked, after saying the town had not provided her the salaries of each position after she requested them.

Jonathan Pew encouraged the citizens to think about the budget "for the future vision of this town."

Special events coordinator Diane Burr, who said she was not at the first public hearing, said, "I understand [at the first hearing] there were attacks of special events beach patrol and trolley. The special events are for businesses and children.

"We've put our community on the map because of this," she said.

Lisa Garrett, who once owned The Great Outdoors in North Beach, said it would have helped her business if they had special events to attract people to the town. She has since moved her business.

Ron Russo, who said he has been hammering away to improve North Beach for 35 years, said, "We're not going to turn back." Businesses find it difficult to survive in this town, Russo said, adding anything the town can do to help businesses needs to be continued.

Bayside Museum announces summer contests

The Bayside Museum will now be open from Wednesday through Sunday from 1 to 4 p.m. with a college intern, Rachael Reed, assisting in the museum's activities. The museum will be holding Capt. John Smith contests all summer long with treasure hunts planned for the Beaches.

The museum will hide items that Smith may have used, seen or eaten during his exploration. The contests will culminate with the unveiling of the donated Capt. John Smith's book, an original 1632 manuscript, at an Oct. 18 block party.

"We want it to be fun, but also educational," said Grace Mary Brady, the museum's curator. Participants can sign up at the museum, and Annmarie Gardens' Wild Things contests will work in conjunction with Bayside's contests.

Ordinances passed

The ordinance to amend to powers of the zoning administrator and planning commission was approved, which has the commission reviewing applications for category one permits such as fences. Council member Randy Hummel said the ordinance may have people putting up fences without permits because they will not want to wait a month until the planning commission meets.

The ordinance to change the parking plan was approved and the parking study that included peak summer traffic, which was done on Memorial Day weekend, was completed and currently being reviewed.

Parking bans in effect

The summer parking bans are currently in effect, with Bay Avenue and the parking lot behind town hall closed from 11 p.m. to 4 a.m. Speed bumps were installed on Bay Avenue recently and residents said they are slowing down traffic.

A $35 parking violation fee is now in effect for those parking over the allotted two hours in designated parking spots.

charvat@somdnews.com

BGE solicits customers for program

When enrolling in the PeakRewards program, BGE will install a new programmable thermostat or switch that will save energy and allow BGE "to control your compressor during peak times," said Candace McCrae, the program's spokesperson at the North Beach Town Council meeting last Thursday.

"Monday through Sunday is generally when the demand is at peak; when it's hot out," she said.

The agreement allows BGE to "cycle" air conditioning on and off from time to time during the summer months during an "event" — or peak usage of electricity.

A monthly credit of $50 to $100 will be given to those who sign up for the program based on the percentage of cycling they choose to sign up for, from 50 to 100 percent cycling. A matching bonus of $50 to $100 will be given in the first year for enrolling in the program.

BGE will cycle participants' electricity when they are close to a brown out during an emergency event or during a non emergency event called by BGE. Last year electricity was cycled six times. Participants can opt out of two events, McCrae said, giving an example of someone having a party with guests over and wanting to opt out that day. For more information, go to BGESmartEnergy.com/PeakRewards.