By HEATHER NELLIS

For the C-S-E

FONDA — The Montgomery County Board of Supervisors Finance Committee met this week and asked Treasurer Shawn Bowerman to craft a preliminary 2013 budget that closes the projected $4 million budget gap entirely with cuts.

Committee Chairman and Root Supervisor John Thayer said the request is part of the committee’s attempt to “discern the track we’re going to take to address the deficit.”

Though Bowerman will release his formal preliminary budget in October, Thayer said the committee wanted the treasurer to “form a recommendation that’s prudent, though somewhat drastic, to meet the deficit.”

The deficit was determined when Bowerman compiled a budget of departmental “wish lists” that amounts to a $1.2 million increase from this year’s budget, and would require a 15 percent property tax increase to cover.

However, the supervisors have appeared firm in their conviction to stay within the state-imposed property tax cap, as reiterated by Amsterdam 1st Ward Supervisor Vito “Butch” Greco, who also serves on the committee.

“We’ve got to be realistic. We’ve got to make some cuts,” he said.

Thayer said he’s also heard an unwillingness from other supervisors to dip into the county’s $5.1 million in reserves, which he said will likely be reduced to about $3 million before the year is over.

He said the county has to pay $1.5 million to the Federal Emergency Management Agency to reimburse costs received for projects related to the 2006 flooding events, because the county received also payment from its flood insurance carriers for projects already reimbursed by FEMA.

Thayer said he also received word Tuesday about a $500,000 mistake in the county’s annual update document that was discovered by the county’s auditors.

“When you go lower than $3 million in the fund balance, you start talking about cash flow issues, and if you have to borrow money to make payroll, then you start paying interest, too,” he said.

In the 4.5 years Thayer’s been a county supervisor, he said he’s seen the board exhaust its fund balance, but next year, he said no department will go unharmed.

He noted that the 2007 budget is only slightly less than the preliminary budget of wish-lists.

“The first four years I was on the board, we used the fund balance to zero out the tax increase. And my town has seen a 10 percent tax decrease in the past three or four years. So that means five years without growth, and we can’t continue to hand out a tax decrease and people to expect the same level of services.”

Thayer said if taxpayers want to see the sheriff’s office, the Department of Motor Vehicles and the Department of Public Works to stay intact, “they better start making a lot of noise. And if they want them to stay intact, they better expect their taxes to go over the cap.”

“I don’t think we’ll hear anyone say that,” said Amsterdam town Supervisor Thomas DiMezza, who said he will not vote to exceed the cap. “And it would take a majority — 3,000 people — to tell me they want me to raise their taxes. It’s just not going to happen.”

Thayer said he hopes Bowerman can complete the preliminary budget by the Finance Committee’s next meeting in August.