Rockville Centre budget, F.D. bonds OK'd

After partially restoring funding to the program and professional services portion of the Sandel Senior Center budget for the 2011-12 fiscal year at a public hearing on Monday night, the Village Board of Trustees adopted Rockville Centre’s budget by a vote of 4-1. Trustee Kevin Glynn cast the only vote against it.

Originally, funding for professional-services at the center was cut by 50 percent to $9,500, but the total is now $17,000. The village removed $10,000 from the Park and Recreation Department’s flower planting budget to offset the amount restored to the senior center. Village Comptroller Michael Schussheim said that the $2,000 reduction from the budget can be made up in other ways, and shouldn’t have a negative impact on the center.

“The difference, hopefully, can be made up through volunteer hours,” Schussheim said. “We’ve looked at everything more carefully.”

He added that there would still be cuts in the senior center budget for part-time staff, including the elimination of a clerk, a bookkeeper, a dishwasher and a bus driver’s position, which was the most wasteful, according to Schussheim.

He also informed trustees of a reduction of 1½ hours a week — at most — for two part-time positions at the center: a social worker and a gerontologist. Some programs are also being eliminated, he explained, because they are not well attended.

The restoration comes on the heels of a contentious public hearing on March 29, when members of the center and residents voiced opposition to the cuts proposed in the preliminary draft of the spending plan.

Howard Buck, president of the Sandel Center Club, said he appreciated the board’s reconsideration. “I want to thank you for listening to us,” he said.

June ballot to include F.D. referendum

Also on Monday, trustees approved Fire Department bonds for a $21.1 million capital project to rehabilitate two of its facilities, at 103 Maple Ave. and 58 N. Centre Ave. The board passed the proposal with a supermajority vote of 4-0, with only the trustees voting. As a result, it will be placed on the June 21 election ballot as a referendum.

“It’s now fair to put this up to the voters,” said Mayor Mary Bossart. “This is a project that has been under review for a considerable amount of time.”