Verona Council Reopens Budget Talks

Verona Council will resume talks on its 2012 budget in a public meeting at 6 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 16, officials decided in a meeting Tuesday evening.

Council members last month, holding the property tax rate at 8 mills—or $800 for a property assessed at $100,000. But because Councilman Kevin Larkin took office after the budget passed, officials are able to reopen it.

A projected a $70,000 deficit. But the current version of the budget shows the borough with an excess of $41,467 in revenues. 

Councilwoman Rhoda Gemellas-Worf, who heads the finance committee, said officials had initially miscalculated the revenues it would receive and didn’t have to slash expenses.

Gemellas-Worf acknowledged that there had been talk of 22-percent and 12-percent raises for two borough employees but declined to go into specifics. Council met in a closed session after the meeting to discuss personnel matters.

“In today’s economy, that’s a little high,” she said of the raises.

The budget isn’t council’s only financial concern. The borough’s auditor may be on his way out.

In a unanimous vote, council approved searching for a new auditor. The person currently in that position, Bob Tomasic, has been submitting audits late.

Council received an audit for 2010 just last week, Gemellas-Worf said. Borough code requires audits to be submitted 90 days after the end of a year, according to Solicitor Craig Alexander.

“That’s uncalled for,” Gemellas-Worf said. “It’s not professional.”

Among Gemellas-Worf’s concerns are that receiving audits late could interfere with applications for various grants and fuel money.

“If we lose our grant money, we’re going to have a lot of problems,” she said.