BERNE — Although Berne’s preliminary budget for 2006 is about $270,000 higher than this year’s budget, it calls for a tax-rate decrease of about 1.3 percent, or about five cents per $1,000 of assessed value.

Supervisor Kevin Crosier credits the tax-rate decrease to smart budgeting over the past few years.
"What the town has done is we’ve taken money that we’ve saved and we’ve used that in this year’s budget," Crosier said. "We did so well budgeting over the last four years...We have a cushion."

Cost saving measures the town has taken include a waste-oil burning furnace and a program that allows employees to pay some of their health-care deductibles with the money saved from a cheaper plan, he said.
"We’re basically carrying that savings over," Crosier said.

Of the total $1.9 million preliminary budget, $612,850 will be raised from taxes, with $294,000 coming from the fund balance and about $966,700 coming from revenues, like sales and mortgage taxes.

Highway spending is budgeted at $851,500.

By far the largest increase in the preliminary budget is for fuel, both for heating and powering the town’s equipment.
"Both of those doubled," Crosier said, "even with buying our fuel on state contract."

Fuels costs have been rising nation-wide.

Last fall, Crosier upset some in the town when he questioned the Berne Fire District’s spending. The fire district’s budget was increasing every year, and it had to stop, Crosier said.

In the 2006 preliminary budget, the amount set aside for the fire district, $329,970, matches this year’s exactly.
"All I know is they held their spending," Crosier said. "I think they did a good job this year."

The town has budgeted $48,000 for the Helderberg Ambulance squad, a $3,000 increase.