Town of Porter unveils 2017 budget

By Terry Duffy

Editor-in-Chief

Without fanfare, the Town of Porter released its 2017 $5.055 million budget summary Monday. Town bookkeeper Norm Ault commented the 2017 plan is just about the same as last year's, with "no major changes."

By the numbers, the plan includes $1,266,940 earmarked for General Fund A; $1,328,438 for General Fund B; $1,678 for Highway DA - Townwide and $1,198,774 for Highway DB - Outside Village

It calls for a $1.91 tax rate per thousand of assessed valuation for town property owners.

Ault said the Town of Porter over recent years has been conservative in its spending and as a result has built up a number of fund balances in various town accounts. The 2017 budget reflects $777,811 in total fund balance covering six accounts, he noted.

"We'll be having our auditors, Pat Brown and Company, in for our next Town Board meeting to address this and discuss our options," said Ault.

He indicated the town could be looking at acquiring two new dump trucks for the highway department. "Those are expensive, this (the fund balance) would help," he said.

The Town Board will be meeting at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 11, to discuss the budget further.

Alt said the town was considering an Oct. 17 public hearing to review and finalize the budget. He said that date remains tentative, pending Town Board approval on Tuesday.