County Tries to Balance $4.4 Million Budget

By ALEXIS TONTI

Eliminating the water testing laboratory and turning down a $42,500
funding request by the Dukes County Regional Housing Authority -
these are some of the measures under consideration by the Dukes County
commissioners as they try to balance the $4.4 million total operating
budget for next year.

The county commissioners must consider the changes after an initial
draft budget came in with a shortfall of nearly $120,000.

The county commissioners will be asked to vote on the budget at
their meeting June 9.

County manager E. Winn Davis unveiled the proposed cuts at the
regular meeting of the county commissioners last week. Also being
considered is a so-called charge back to towns for about $35,000 in
services provided by the county veterans' agent.

The Dukes County budget process is complicated by state laws that
mandate the amount of money the county metes out to certain departments.
At the same time, under Proposition 2 1/2, the county cannot increase
its assessment to the Island towns and Gosnold by more than 2.5 per cent
annually.

In addition, the county has initiated a number of programs over the
past 10 years - including veterans' agent services, the
health care access program and rodent control - that now account
for about $300,000 in annual expenses.

County treasurer Noreen Mavro Flanders said the budget crunch faced
by Dukes County is not uncommon. "That's really why there
aren't that many counties left in the commonwealth. A lot of them
were so restricted by law that they couldn't go on," said
Ms. Flanders.

"The towns want us to toe a tight line, and we have for as
long as we possibly could - much tighter than the towns
themselves," she said, noting that the towns have collectively
voted for $17 million in budget overrides over the past 25 years. In
that time the county has voted for only one override, for $150,000.

The Martha's Vineyard Airport budget, although included in the
total budget for the county, is accounted for separately from all other
county revenue and expenses.

The airport is self-sustaining and runs entirely on the revenue it
collects during the year, which includes profit from its nonaviation
properties, aviation side rent and terminal and service fees. The
airport commissioners approved its $2.53 million budget in February.

Looking to fiscal year 2005, about 41 per cent of projected revenue
(excluding the airport) to Dukes County - nearly 768,000 -
will come from the county's assessment to the Island towns and
Gosnold.

Other primary sources of revenue include Cape and Islands license
fees ($100,000), registry of deeds ($300,000) and deeds excise
($115,000), which is the money collected from real estate transactions.

The largest share of county expenses can be attributed to the
sheriff's department and the registry of deeds, at $470,000 and
$236,000. At $230,000 insurance costs also account for a significant
share of the county's expenses.

Mr. Davis on Wednesday introduced his recommendations for balancing
the budget.

"As much as we like to support affordable housing, we just
can't do it," Mr. Davis said of the regional housing
authority's request for $42,500.

The regional housing authority did not receive money from the county
last year.

The water testing lab also came under scrutiny last year in the
county's efforts to cut costs, although the commissioners
ultimately approved nearly $60,000 in expenses over $40,000 in revenue.

By shutting down the water lab for fiscal year 2005, the
department's expenses would be reduced to about $29,000, with
$20,700 in projected revenue.

Several commissioners asked why there would still be salary costs in
the face of the lab's closure.

"I have a real problem approving a budget that still has
negative cash flow going to the water testing department when it could
go elsewhere," said commissioner Robert Sawyer.

Mr. Davis said they plan to contract some personnel hours to work in
the water testing lab in Aquinnah. He also said department effort will
be put into publicizing the septic upgrade program, developing other
environmental health programs and launching public awareness campaigns
to address issues such as Lyme disease and lead poisoning.

On the revenue side of the equation, the commissioners noted the
hefty increase projected for the rodent control department. Mr. Davis
explained that the change would come from adjustments to service costs.
The department is expected to generate $20,000 in FY 2005, up 50 per
cent over last year.

The commissioners generally held off commenting until they had time
to review the changes, but several noted how difficult the budget
process has become.

"It is just conceptually frustrating and sad that we
can't have funding for some really important things," said
Mr. Sawyer.

"It is important for people to fully understand how little
money we have to operate on compared to all the services we
offer," said commissioner Roger Wey.