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EXETER – A series of unexpected events has driven the borough in three months from a balanced budget to a $100,000 deficit, council members were told Tuesday.
Federal and state rejection of $49,000 for 2006 flood-related costs; overtime costs for the February and March snowstorms that added $21,512 to the borough’s workman’s comp levy; the discontinuation of a school resource officer’s services, which added another $25,600 in police salary costs; and $9,800 that had to be spent to clear a water retention basin, which after subtracting reserve funds, all led to a total outlay of $96,112, according to P.J. Pribula, chairperson of the finance committee.
The emergency spending rejection was being appealed, he said, but the borough would still need to operate under the tightest limits for the rest of the year.
During the meeting, votes for a Hicks Creek maintenance project, a discharge culvert on Carpenters Creek, the purchase of two used police cars formerly owned by the Illinois State Police, and payment for band costs related to the Memorial Day parade were all covered by grant money, or in the latter case, the promise of donations from councilmen Pribula and Joseph Esposito.