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Amberville staff weigh modest increases for finance, postage and software in budget work session
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Summary
Amberville finance staff reviewed the 2026 draft budget and requested modest increases for office supplies, postage and a software contract; the tax office also proposed higher online-payment and admin charges while the assessor warned of a steep drop in the assessed-to-market ratio.
Christie Arad, chief financial officer for the city of Amberville, asked the municipal budget group to approve modest increases in several finance line items, citing higher printing and toner costs and a new bill for the administration software.
Arad told the group she planned to hold salaries to cost-of-living adjustments but asked for an incremental increase for the deputy treasurer, saying the deputy "goes up and beyond" current duties. She proposed $4,000 for office and computer supplies after reporting an actual spend of $3,008.91 last year and said toner and heavy in-office printing (purchase orders and checks) were driving costs upward.
The CFO also reported the city had received an invoice for the Edmunds administration software and proposed raising computer/data-processing budget to $9,750 to cover the charge, saying the cost covers multiple modules including finance, payroll, requisitions and escrow. "So I'm going to bump that up to $9,750. That is for the admin software," Arad said.
Tax-office lines were reviewed in the same session. The tax-office representative proposed increasing the tax computer/data-processing line to $3,900 to cover admin increases and online-payment (WID) costs. Panel members noted much of conference and licensing costs for the part-time tax clerk are handled by her full-time employer and left several training and dues lines at low or zero amounts.
The group discussed postage and mailing logistics for reassessments and delinquent notices. Staff said the city will likely continue to use an outside vendor for mass mailings and recommended budgeting approximately $2,600 for postage and an additional allocation for printing and special services.
No formal votes were recorded during the work session; staff agreed to return with finalized numbers after audit RFPs and software allocations are confirmed. The committee directed staff to: reconcile actuals vs. proposed line items, confirm the Edmunds invoice allocation across modules, and provide a vendor cost breakdown for printing and mailing before the next budget review.
