Last modified: Tuesday, June 10, 2008 2:51 AM EDT Attleboro budgets too tight to cut BY GEORGE W. RHODES SUN CHRONICLE STAFF ATTLEBORO - City councilors usually find something to trim, no matter how tight a budget is. But not this year, at least not in the water and wastewater budgets. The committee on budget and appropriations made no changes to either spending plan at a meeting Monday. Council financial analyst Jim Castro said he couldn't push for cuts in either of the budgets. He said reductions made by the mayor are "already painful." And council President Frank Cook said many of the line items appear to be too low. "It seems like a lot of these accounts are underfunded," he said. Committee member Brian Kirby said both budgets have been slashed as much as they can be. "There's nothing significant to cut that's going to affect the rate," he said. A public hearing will be held on both water and sewer budgets tonight at city hall. Meanwhile, Mayor Kevin Dumas has recommended rate hikes of 12 percent in the water department and 19 percent in the wastewater department to meet skyrocketing costs brought on by increasing federal and state regulation, increasing debt service and price hikes in chemicals, electricity and fuel. In the water department debt service will jump $675,000 to about $3.1 million. And in the wastewater department, debt service for $30 million in plant renovation costs will rise to about $4.1 million, which equals 42 percent of the $9.6 million spending plan. Reductions in the water department's $6.8 million budget include a $265,000 or 26 percent cut in purchase of services from this year's $1,038,146. The supplies line item was slashed from $540,000 to $487,000. Water supervisors had asked for an increase to $632,000. And in the wastewater department, huge increases in heating and electricity are expected, but those line items have been kept low. For example, heating the new plant is projected to cost about $240,000, but is funded at $90,000. The current cost is $29,000. If deficiencies occur they will be made up from retained earnings. Two vacant positions in the departments will not be filled to save some cash. Dumas has asked for a water rate of $3.84 per 100 cubic feet and a sewer rate of $8.65 per 100 cubic feet to fund the budgets. A hearing will also be held on the trash fee which Dumas wants to cut by $2.28 to $180.16 per year. The hearings are slated for 7 p.m.