Buying public works equipment now and eliminating certain streetlights are two proposals to keep the Bridgton town budget in line with decreasing revenue in 2010.

On Tuesday residents approved a proposal to use money from the undesignated fund balance to pay for public works equipment that would otherwise be purchased during the next fiscal year, therefore taking advantage of the market and removing the expense from the 2010 budget.

Other changes proposed by Town Manager Mitchell Berkowitz to decrease expenditures include reducing staff at the transfer station by one position and either moving assessing in-house or reducing staff at the Municipal Center by one full-time position.

The town currently pays John O’Donnell $30,000 a year for assessing, and Berkowitz said having the assessing clerk and code enforcement officer take that over would create significant savings. The other option Berkowitz was looking at was decreasing the Municipal Office staff by one full-time position, which would save $30,000 in 2010.

By matter of good timing, the budget is lower because a police cruiser was replaced with insurance money after being involved in an accident and no new police officers will have to attend the police academy.

Berkowitz said he was also exploring the possibility of switching to Cumberland County Dispatch services, which would mean shutting down the local dispatching center and laying off employees. The dispatch budget is more than $200,000, and Berkowitz said that after initial costs to make the switch, there could be substantial savings.

Other area towns, such as Casco, Naples and Raymond, have recently switched to county dispatch, in some cases halving their dispatch budget.

Berkowitz said the 2010 budget was one of the most difficult he has ever prepared. Selectmen asked Berkowitz to keep the town side of the tax rate constant at $3.42 per $1,000 of valuation, which required cuts because revenues are expected to drop by $100,000 and Berkowitz decided to spend less of the town’s undesignated fund balance, or surplus, to reduce taxes.

Berkowitz said he was concerned about draining the $2.4 million surplus account, given that it is likely that less year-end surplus dollars will go into the general fund.

The newly formed seven-member Budget Advisory Committee has started meeting to review the proposed $5.6 million budget, which is almost $400,000 less that the current $6 million budget.

Committee Chairman Gordon Davis said the goal is to help the selectmen and town manager find any ways to run the town government more efficiently. The group, which meets Mondays and Wednesdays at 5 p.m. at the Bridgton Municipal Complex, will start meeting with department heads in March.

“We’re trying to provide another set of eyes,” Davis said.

A small group of residents approved making $48,000 of the town’s surplus available for buying public works equipment on Tuesday.

The public works department is looking for a one-ton truck and a street sweeper, and Public Works Director Jim Kidder said he wanted to be able to take advantage of deals on used or new equipment if they came up. There was a deal on a one-year-old sweeper that he had to pass up, Kidder said, because he didn’t have money in hand.

At last June’s town meeting, $40,000 was put aside for a street sweeper, awaiting future appropriations. The $48,000 approved Tuesday would be split $28,000 for the truck and $20,000 for the sweeper, on top of the $40,000 already designated. Selectmen would still have to approve the purchase of the equipment, if and when it came up.

Following the special town meeting, selectmen held a public hearing to discuss turning off 28 of the town’s 147 streetlights in order to save money. The 15-year contract with Central Maine Power has expired for the lights considered. There are other lights in town that could also be turned off, Selectman Paul Hoyt said, once their contracts expire.

“I feel strongly these need to come out,” Hoyt said, adding that the $2,300 in savings is a lot of money. Hoyt looked at all the lights in question, which are mounted on telephone poles throughout town. He said he didn’t see any reason for some of the lights to exist, adding that even small cuts could add up to decrease the town budget.

“We need to be very careful if we do turn off any of these lights,” said Chairman Arthur Triglione Sr., adding that he was worried that despite their efforts, people wouldn’t know the lights were going out.

Resident Earl Cash said he was concerned about one of the lights on the list on Elm Street, as it was across from a funeral home and provided light for people who park along the street.

Berkowitz said property owners could chose to pay for lights in front of their properties, if the town decided to shut them off.

Selectman Woody Woodward suggested tabling the issue until spring, when the foliage comes out. The foliage blocks the light, and so the streetlights don’t illuminate as broad an area as in the winter.