The City of Bradford may be facing a tax increase for 2007, but
at budgetary hearings Tuesday evening, City Council members
stressed to every department head to trim all the fat from their
budget requests to try to hold the line.

Councilman Dan Costello said, “If we should have to ask for a
tax increase, we all can make an effort if we can get our heads
together to come back with a savings. I don’t care if it’s turning
off the cars and saving gasoline.”

“Or an increase in revenue,” added Mayor Michele Corignani, “we
have two streams – increase revenues or cut costs.”

The other area Costello asked department heads to concentrate on
was safety – “Our (worker’s compensation) bill has gone up
tremendously. We have to make safety a priority in 2007.”

Lt. Carl Milks, acting police chief, was the first to address
council. Milks explained that this past year, many injuries to
police officers haven’t been their own fault.

“We can’t control who attacks us or when. We get blindsided,” he
said. He and Corignani said the police department has been trained
in using collapsible batons to aid them in remaining safe.

“Bottom line, if you have no respect for that uniform, you
deserve what you get,” Corignani said.

Corignani said the police department has had a revenue increase,
as they have been titled some assets seized in drug cases and are
second only to the state police in making arrests for driving under
the influence of alcohol.

They are looking to address some of the costs incurred by the
department, such as transports for hearing days, to see if there is
a way the costs might be passed on or recovered.

The police department is also looking to replace their Dodge
Durango, as maintenance issues with the sport-utility vehicle are
continuing to cause problems.

Next, Parks Director Chip Comilla explained nearly every line
item in his budget came in under budget for 2006. And he showed a
40 percent profit from the concessions.

He explained that by opening the Callahan Park Ice Rink in the
middle to late November, there will be a cost savings as far as
utilities go for the year.

Also, he had purchased new, lower grade equipment and has kept
up with the maintenance, which has allowed the department to see a
cost savings for the year.

For 2007, he requested funds for a repair to an aging cooling
tower and to purchase a new tractor, which can also be used for
snow removal.

“From last year to this year, there’s only $187 more expended
and that’s with adding a $4,800 piece of equipment,” Comilla
said.

George Corignani, health director, explained some line items in
his budget were higher in 2006 than expected because of unforeseen
circumstances.

“Our emergency (demolition) was way over budget because of the
fire on Kennedy Street,” he said. The amount, as of Tuesday, was
$15,817, when $8,000 had been budgeted.

He’s requesting $10,000 for 2007.

For the code enforcement department, George Corignani suggested
a way for the city to save money next year – ask Bradford Township
to help with the costs associated with the duties of Merle Silvis,
who also works as their code enforcement officer.

“I think council should address it with the supervisors,” said
Michele Corignani, adding that Bradford Township is getting the
revenue from the code enforcement work.

Fire Chief Bill McCormack explained the fire department has had
a very difficult year with injuries and illness, with a total of
105 weeks so far this year that people have been off work.

He suggested the city pay for flu shots for the firemen and
police department to help keep the workers healthy.

For 2007, McCormack said he would like to get an ambulance
replaced. He suggested replacing ambulances on a rotating basis
where every third or fourth year, the city would replace an
ambulance.

Using money from an endowment and from the townships’
contributions towards ambulance amortization, the city would not
have to come up with as much out-of-pocket money for a new
ambulance, he said.

He suggested a similar rotating program for replacing
firetrucks.

Gary Alcock, head of the department of public works, said he is
asking for two new garbage packers for 2007 and suggested a
five-year lease. “You can lease it for five years and then buy out
the lease for one dollar,” he said.

He said there are no new prices on the packers yet, as new
emissions standards are being developed and prices have yet to be
released.

Mayor Corignani also addressed the sidewalk replacement program,
where the city puts $20,000 into an account to match funds with
city residents for replacing sidewalks.

“It’s a wonderful program, but if we need to sacrifice something
for a year …,” she said, trailing off. “That $20,000, I would love
to see it go up, but I would rather sacrifice a portion of that
than something else.”

City electrician Terry Kornacki asked the city to consider
replacing the electrical van for next year, or at least repairing
the bucket truck.

He also asked to replace two doors and to get an air conditioner
at the electrical shop.

Kornacki said the city will save a little money on the
maintenance of lighting on U.S. Route 219 during the construction
project, as several of the lights have been taken down.

City Clerk John Peterson, zoning officer, was the last to
address council. He said his budget “is as bare bones as it gets”
and is “pretty much driven by the amount of hearings that we
have.”

The mayor said it was still too early in budget talks to know
anything for certain. She added everything asked for by the
department heads was a “wish list.”