The Village of Montgomery board, after stewing over its budget review a few weeks ago, approved the 2024-2025 budget during its April 16 meeting, but not before some last-minute discussion.

Trustee Randi Picarello stated that there is a very likely chance that the board will exceed its current budget before May 31, leaving the village with fewer funds for its 2024-2025 fiscal year. She asked what the board should do moving forward; the other trustees did not respond.

“The numbers for this year’s budget indicate that it is possible to go over budget before May 31, which leaves our forecasted fund balance even lower than previously expected. Where do we look now?” she asked.

Picarello then questioned if the board had a plan to increase revenue and decrease expenditures for the coming fiscal year and whether or not the increase in the tax rate would provide enough money for the budget and reserve funds.

“Is this an adequate rate that will not only give us enough money to get through our budget but will also make sure that we have a bit more in our reserve funds? I don’t want to be in a worse position next year.”

Trustee Kevin Conero speculated that there was not too much the board could do considering that the village received much less revenue this year from the county compared to previous years. Village Mayor Mike Hembury asserted that the board will tread carefully with the budget.

“The revenue from the county is a lot lower than it’s been in previous years. We didn’t get the revenue coming in, we didn’t get the mortgage tax revenue coming in, and we didn’t get our bonus check from the county that we’ve gotten the last three years,” Conero said. “If you’re looking to cut something from the budget, it’s going to be a person or a service.”

“To increase revenue, we’ll just keep being careful like we are,” Hembury said.

The board then voted to approve the budget, with Picarello voting “nay.”