By Bill Grubb

ROGERSVILLE - After spending nearly four hours Monday going through the budget line by line to trim expenditures, city officials actually increased a projected budget deficit by approximately $56,000.
    Members of the Rogersville Board of Mayor and aldermen also discussed trimming one police officer's position,why the city has a building inspector and an assistant building inspector, the merits of the school system's laptop computer initiative and freezing contributions at the 2008-09 budget levels.            During the session members of the BMA trimmed approximately $46,000 from the proposed $5.63 million spending plan, but adding the entire $182,212 requested by the Rogersville City School increased expenditures beyond the amount of the reductions.
    The original budget proposal presented to the BMA earlier this mont projects revenues of $4.47 million and would use more than $1.1 million in reserve funds.
    City Recorder Bill Lyons said each one cent of the city's property tax rate generates $9,756 in new revenue.  He also noted some cities in the region have found that cameras located at traffic signals or used to enforce speed limits have had an impact on revenues, although board members did not seem to embrace the camera concept.    
    "If the goal is for safety, that is one thing.  Looking at it for revenue, I couldn't go for that," Alderman Philip Beal said, with Alderman Wayne Slater noting cameras have become a subject of controversy in Morristown.
    In addition to the recommended budget cuts, Police Chief Doug Nelson also discussed the possibility of trimming an officer's position from the police department.  Lyons said the reduction would represent a budget savings of approximately $50,000, including salary, benefits and other costs.
    Alderman John Johnson asked why the city has a building inspector/plumbing inspector, Steve Nelson, and an assistant building inspector, Margaret Thames.
    The combined salaries for Nelson and Thames total $24,757, while budge documents indicate the city only received $4,304 in revenue from building permits.
    According to city officials, Thames the paperwork for most building permits while Nelson is required to do inspections.
    "Why can't the inspector take care of issuing the permits too?" Johnson inquired. "During the election I heard from people about a permit being issued when it shouldn't have been.  It seems like there is a lack of communication somewhere."
    Lyons also cited a lack of communication between city hall and the Rogersville City School in the past and suggested school officials have often spent money on projects such as a front lawn renovation and a laptop computer initiative without looking at future budgeting needs.
    According to the recorder, a school bond repayment schedule is now requiring increased payments each year.
    "Whatever the school needs this year, we are looking at around another $500,000 next year.  We need to find a way to come up with more money each year or start looking at selling a school off," Lyons suggested.
    Lyons and Alderman Brian Hartness asked several questions about the laptop computer initiative, which Director Sherry Terry noted was already being implemented when she became director.
    According to Terry, the 668 student school has approximately 364 laptop units for teachers, staff and students in the sixth, seventh and eighth grades.
    The director said the three-year lease agreement will be completed this year and the final $200,000 payment has been paid.   At the end of the lease, the school system may purchase the used units at "fair market value" or return them.
    "It was a wonderful initiative, a forward thinking initiative," Terry said of the project.  "We are already working on future options, maybe a scaled back version involving fewer laptop units.  That is something the board will be working on later this year."
    Although Terry said the benefits of the program include proving access to technology to all students, Lyons described the benefits of the laptop initiative as "doubtful."  Hartness suggested improving computer labs at the school would be just as beneficial and less costly.
    In reviewing the budget the BMA also suggested leaving $70,900 in the budget for contributions to various organizations, with no increases or reductions.
    The budget does not include any "across the board" raises for city employees.  Water Superintendent Jim Bible said his balanced budget, which does not require any rate increases, does contain a proposed 3 percent raise but if other city employees are not receiving a raise he would remove the increases from his budget.
    "I think most employees aren't expecting raise. They are aware of the situation and realize we could be talking about cuts and layoffs," Lyons said.
    The budget session was recessed until Thursday at 3:30 p.m