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The town of Onalaska last week overcame an $80,000 deficit from its first draft and approved a proposed 2010 budget.
Considering the loss of more than $30,000 in state aids over the previous year, the town will use $105,000 of its fund balance to help balance the books. Those funds are being directed toward the purchase of a plow truck and a chipper.
That will bring the town fund balance down to $748,000 by the end of next year. Typically, the balance has remained near the $1.1 million to $1.2 million mark.
The budget includes no raises for board members and no allowance for per diem expenses. Employee expenses dropped because of the elimination of the administrator position, the drop in hours for the town clerk and the loss of one shop employee.
A now-balanced version of the budget will be up for public approval at an upcoming, unscheduled budget hearing. A tentative hearing date in December will likely be moved up to November. Town Clerk Sue Schultz said an earlier date would allow officials to get tax bills out sooner.
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