Highlands budget blues?

I think Highlands residents have heard a lot about how great this year's budget is going to be from Mayor Little, but I haven't seen any numbers to back this up. Have you?

During the last meeting, it seemed that CFO Stephen Pfeffer was trying to dull residents' hopes, while Little kept interjecting positive phrases such as "creative" and "proactive." She added that the council was working hard in executive session on things that could not yet be publicly discussed.

I gave Little credit earlier this year for taking on the task of paring down the budget, heck I even wrote an article about it. But all of the secrecy surrounding these "solutions" is not comforting three months into the fiscal year.

During the last meeting, Pfeffer mentioned that the $8.2 million budget would see a 4.67 cent increase on its tax rate. Since he didn't bother to return my phone call from Thursday morning, I had to work out the rest of the numbers myself.

That increase brings the tax rate to about 99.67 cents per $100 of assessed property value for just the municipal budget. A 4.67 cent rate increase translates to more than $250,000 being added to the $5.09 tax levy from last year.

Little said she wanted to stay at or below the rate of inflation, which she seems to have done if these numbers are correct. However, I cannot be sure of the numbers, since some people do not want to share.

Pfeffer did say during the meeting that he wanted to continue reworking the numbers until November in hopes of a better outcome.

Little seems to be sticking to her previous statement: "I am not going to pass an increase that I don't approve of and I am not going to give up working on the budget until it is acceptable."

I just hope these "creative" and "proactive" ideas see some public light before the budget is introduced to really give the residents a chance to know what is going on in that Borough Hall.

The next Borough Council meeting is slated for Wednesday, Oct. 15, at 8 p.m. at Borough Hall, Bay Avenue.