ALFRED — The county budget committee won’t be asking York County Commissioners to postpone implementation of a planned change to a fiscal year. Instead, they voted to postpone their vote on budget approval for 14 days so municipal representatives can make the pitch to commissioners directly.

The York County Budget Committee held a public hearing on the budget proposals Wednesday. With the change to a fiscal year, two budgets are in the offing: A $9.1 million, six-month budget from Jan. 1 to June 30; and a 12-month, $18.3 million budget that starts July 1 and continues through June 30, 2014.

The budget committee late last year voted 12-3 against asking commissioners to postpone the fiscal year change after the subject was first broached. Now, with municipalities reeling from the potential impact of Gov. Paul LePage’s biennial budget proposal ”“ which includes a halt to revenue sharing and changes to other revenues municipalities count on to help pay the bills ”“ the subject was raised again.

Communities say the state budget will pack a fiscal wallop if it is approved as presented. Sanford, for example, would be faced with cutting services or saddling residents with a $2.70 per $1,000 tax hike. It could be more, depending on how the education portion of LePage’s budget plays out, resulting in some combination of service cuts and a tax hike.

York County Commissioners voted in March to make the switch to a fiscal year from a calendar year. The change has been discussed for years and was the subject of an affirmative vote in 2007.

The planned fiscal year change means municipalities could be paying 18 months of county taxes in 12 months, exacting an $8 million impact countywide. The municipalities, however, may elect to pay a portion of the tax ”“ with interest ”“ over five years. The 12-Town Group on Monday voted to ask commissioners to postpone the change for one year, and the issue was discussed by email among the 13 York County town and city managers, drawing mixed opinions.

The change is expected to save the county about $110,000 annually and improve the county’s cash flow, eliminating the need to borrow money in anticipation of taxes, County Manager Greg Zinser told the budget committee. It would also eliminate the need for two audits; the county jail has been required to be on a fiscal year since jails were consolidated with the state prison system earlier in the decade, which has meant two audits every year, Zinser said.

Budget committee Chairman John Sylvester said his community can’t afford both a $200,000 reduction in state revenue, should Gov. LePage’s budget proposal be enacted as presented, along with $75,000 the town would pay the county if Alfred chose to pay the county tax in one lump sum. He said the town’s budget can’t be cut by that much.

Sylvester said LePage has made it clear he doesn’t intend to change his budget proposal.

“Unless the Legislature can make itself veto-proof, $420 million will be passed down to property taxpayers,” said Sylvester in his pitch to have the budget committee recommend the fiscal year postponement. The budget panel voted 8-7 against making the request.

There was some discussion of whether the budget committee’s public hearing was the proper venue for addressing the issue.

Some, like budget committee member David James of Kennebunkport, said the matter is in the commissioner’s purview and his reading of the email among the municipal mangers showed 90 percent support for the fiscal year change.

“Do we really want to put if off another year?” he asked. “I think we ought to get to what we’re here for.”

Budget committee member David Spofford of Kennebunk said he was present to vote on a budget.

“I believe the commissioners have the right to create a fiscal year, and at the end of the day, it will cost the 29 towns (of York County) additional money whether we put it off or not,” he said.

“I don’t think putting off (the fiscal year change) will make a difference,” said budget committee member Richard Clark of Wells.

Sylvester acknowledged that if a snowstorm hadn’t postponed the public hearing planned for Jan. 16, the county budget would have been passed before LePage’s budget proposal was handed up.

Selectmen from Hollis and Shapleigh and Sanford City Manager Steve Buck read letters asking that fiscal year be postponed for a year. Buck pointed out there’s an expense to municipalities, even if they elect to stretch payments out over five years.

Zinser presented figures that he said show municipalities would end up with more expense if the change is postponed.

The public hearing drew about 20 people, most of whom represented municipalities. Some expressed dismay that county commissioners didn’t attend the session and pointed out that commissioners’ meetings, held at 4:30 p.m., are conducted when many people are working and cannot attend.

Cliff Emery noted the public hearing was the opportunity for people to talk about the budget.

“How would (commissioners) know how the public feels?” he asked. “They should be sitting in this room. I didn’t expect an answer from them tonight, but if they were in the room, they would know how people feel about the budget or the fiscal year change.”

Budget committee Vice Chairman Joseph Hanslip called for the 14-day postponement in the budget approval process.

“This will allow time for everyone to cool down and for communication,” he said. “And in the end, I believe we will adopt a responsible budget.”

— Senior Staff Writer Tammy Wells can be contacted at 324-4444 (local call in Sanford) or 282-1535, Ext. 327 or twells@journaltribune.com.