In a 13-page municipal expenditures budget, one single line item and the change that was made to it, caused the biggest uproar at this week's town meeting.

With about 75 people in attendance, the May 12 meeting saw a contingent of people from the Lake Beseck community who were concerned about the drastic cut in funds by both the first selectman and the Board of Finance. The line item for Lake Beseck park expenses (7702) went from the department's requested proposal of $14,000 to just $4,000.

"The concern with the cuts in the budget is that it is going to cause problems at the lake," said Denise Carter, who lives on Chipeway Road.

First Selectman Jon Brayshaw said that they decided to eliminate the summer lifeguard program at the lake on a trial basis and "see what happens." He said Park and Recreation has long had difficulties in trying to find people to fill the lifeguard positions.

"A lot of it had to do with the difficulty in finding people and then getting them to perform," Brayshaw said.

Board of Finance chair Ellen Waff said the board looked into the liability issue and found that it will not affect the town's insurance at all. She said it was determined that if an incident should occur at the lake, the town will likely get sued whether there were lifeguards there or not.

The cut was "partially because of the expense, but also because of the situation of them not being there when they are needed," Waff said.

Waff said the finance board decided last week that people would have to buy beach passes this year, which will give police a tool to "throw out" those who do not have passes. However, several Lake Beseck residents said that move will only keep police busy with monitoring passes, and potentially less available to handle the more important issues in town.

"We don't want to have a situation where the lifeguards are policing the beach," said finance board member Rebecca Adams. "If the police need to be there, then the police need to be there. We don't want a trade off."

Barbara Jean DiMauro said she agreed with the residents of the lake. "For the safety of the people who use the beach, we need a lifeguard," she said.

Alexandra Taylor, also a Lake Beseck resident, said money should be restored to the line item so important issues can be addressed concerning the lake. She questioned who the authority is at the lake who is responsible for making people follow the rules.

"I think what we're talking about is a quality of life issue," Taylor said.

John Manning said there was no question for him about restoring the funds. "Ten thousand dollars versus a child's life, are you kidding me?"

Robert Levine, chairman of the Park and Recreation Commission, clarified for the record that the commission did not vote to get rid of the lifeguards. In fact, the commission was approached by the Xavier High School swim team, some of whom were interested in being lifeguards at the lake.

One resident made a motion to restore the line item to $14,000, and residents voted by paper ballot. In order to increase or reduce the budget at the town meeting, the item must be voted in by two-thirds of the voters in attendance. The vote came in at 45 yes, 29 no, and failed by five votes.

Finance board member Paul Pizzo said the board has a contingency fund, and if a group comes before the board with a plan and it feels the request has merit, the funds can be appropriated. He suggested that those concerned about the lifeguard issue come to the Board of Finance in the future.

"If there is enough support for it, I don't see why it can't be restored at a later date," said Selectman David Lowry.

A salary question

Though much of the crowd left after the Lake Beseck vote, some residents still had questions.

Patricia Bandzes questioned the salary increases for the first selectmen's administrative assistant, the town clerk, assistant town clerk, municipal agent and park and recreation director. She asked what factors were driving the above-average increases - an increase in hours, increase in services, performance issues, etc.

"Most of the salary increases range between three and four percent this year," Bandzes said, "yet there are some that are quite a bit above that, if not double digits."

The first selectman's administrative assistant received an eight percent salary increase this year through the recent union contract negotiations. Bandzes called the increase "unbelievable," but Brayshaw, who took part in the negotiations, said it brought the position up to a comparable pay rate of other administrative assistants.

Some residents commented that people in "normal" jobs were not seeing the same kind of raises, especially in these economic times.

The town clerk assistant will receive a 7.2 percent pay increase due to a missed step that was rectified in this year's budget, Waff said. The municipal agent's salary was increased by 21.2 percent due to an increase of four hours per week. The park and recreation director salary saw a three percent increase due to an additional hour per week.

As for the town clerk, the Board of Finance approved a deal whereby her health benefits would be forfeited in order for a higher salary. The increase is 14.3 percent.

Waff said the deal turned out to be a benefit to the town, but Bandzes wondered what, if anything, was in place to ensure that the next town clerk would not only take the benefits, but a high salary as well. Waff said there is a written letter indicating that should a new town clerk be elected, the salary would be reduced if benefits are taken. The deal applies only to the current town clerk.

"I'm not sure it is good policy to make individual deals with people," Bandzes said.

Brayshaw said the Board of Selectmen plans to create an ordinance that would make a uniform policy to deal with this issue going forward. If the town plans on giving employees the option to forego benefits for a higher salary, a standard practice has to be in place, he said.

A $5,000 savings?

Animal Control Officer David Chowaniec said he could save the town $5,000 by eliminating the line item for an animal control vehicle in the capital/non-recurring fund. In his 21 years as the town's animal control officer, Chowaniec said he has always used his own vehicle, and is currently on his third.

When it was determined in January that the new fire chief would not be using the white SUV that had long been used by the former chief, Chowaniec requested use of that vehicle. Chowaniec said no one asked to use the vehicle in the department until he expressed interest in it. Since then, he said, the vehicle has been "sitting in driveways" with no use at all.

"The town already owns the vehicle," Chowaniec said. It would only need to be outfitted with a radio, lights and lettering.

Brayshaw said it was true that the current fire chief does not use the SUV, but there is a question of: "Does the fire department have first dibs on the vehicle, and should it remain in the department?"

The $5,000 was left in the capital fund for now until the situation can be worked out.

The vote

Overall, the $4,028,629 budget passed with a 37 to 18 vote. The number of voters who cast a ballot for the budget was less than last year, when 63 total people voted.

Elections

Both Bill Currlin and Nancy Boyle were unanimously voted in to the Board of Education. Currlin, who was nominated by Mary Johnson, returns to the school board for another term after 13 years of service. Boyle, nominated by Kathy Lowry, will serve her first term on the board. She comes with a wealth of fundraising and community service experience and will bring insight and creativity to the position, Lowry said.

Only one of the two DMIAAB seats were filled at the meeting. Kathy Kokoszka nominated Frank Petrella, who was unanimously voted to the position. Petrella, a 21-year resident of Middlefield, has an interest in the environment and recycling and wants to promote cost-effective ways to do that in town, Kokoszka said.