FILE PHOTO
Berlin Town Hall

By Josh Davis, Associate Editor

(March 14, 2019) Berlin Mayor Gee Williams on Monday said rumors Town Administrator Laura Allen would receive a raise are untrue.

Williams said the town was at the beginning of a lengthy budget process set to culminate in June.

He said reports the “the town is about to run out of money and going to have to lock up the doors” were “not even close” to being true.

General fund reserves, the town’s savings account, need to be replenished after covering for utility fund overages over a period of several years, Williams said. He added, “This is a budgeting problem, not a crisis.”

Williams said some level of increase would occur for property taxes and water, sewer and stormwater rates, but by how much has yet to be determined.

“There are a number of options on rates and combinations of those rates that will be considered as the mayor and council begins working on the fiscal 2020 budget,” he said.

Williams had one final comment on the subject.

“Apparently, since the last council meeting, there has been a rumor on the street that all town employees will not be receiving pay increases in our next budget, except for the town administrator,” he said. “This is not true.”

Williams said Allen on Feb. 28 gave him a signed statement that “she is unwilling to accept any raise that the town employees are not receiving.”