HONESDALE, PA — Everyone attending the April 17 Honesdale Borough Council meeting was met with an unpleasant odor. “Do you notice the dead animal smell? We think a rodent died in the elevator shaft,” said borough secretary-manager Judy Poltanis.

Poltanis was later to apologetically request $85 for annual maintenance of emergency phone service in the elevator. Citing the plight of anyone stuck in the elevator with that oppressive odor, she noted that last year rodents gnawed through elevator wires, ultimately disabling the elevator and trapping someone inside it. The council approved her request, but was less generous with other expenses.

Before the evening was out, a $46 petty-cash expenditure had become a bone of contention. “Why should one department be allowed to spend $46 on a clock from Home Depot when it could have made the same purchase from Walmart or Kmart for a fraction of that cost?” asked Councilman Bill Canfield. Canfield said he would gladly have donated a clock from his home, had he known it was needed in one of the borough offices. His anger came in response to a hefty cut in public works spending.

Reiterating that the borough is already facing a $100,000 deficit this year, President Mike Augello said the borough now has a non-negotiable choice: raise taxes or cut services. Last month, the council directed all borough department heads to scrutinize their budgets with an eye to trimming any expenses that could be avoided and/or postponed this fiscal year.

Per Poltanis, the department of public works (DPW) was the only department to submit a written plan of expense cutting. DPW director Rich Doney managed to save the borough almost $40,000 by postponing a bridge rehab project estimated at $35,000 and making small cuts elsewhere. Poltanis said other department heads had made comments to her about the directive, but had yet to follow through with budget cuts.

The council decided to direct department heads to submit their written plans for savings to Poltanis by April 25, to accommodate her May vacation schedule and allow the council time to review them in advance of its next meeting on May 1.

Unexpected expenses have cropped up as well. Due to incorrect calculations on a police department payment schedule, the borough owes its full-time officers an aggregate of $13,953 in pay and benefits, which Augello said will be issued immediately and a correct pay schedule instituted going forward.

But it wasn’t all about money or taking sides in money matters; earlier in the evening the council made a unanimous policy decision about private parties in public spaces. The decision was triggered by a request to hold a wedding ceremony in Central Park next September. With a guest list of 120, the couple requested permission to erect a pavilion and tents and to reserve space adequate for the two-hour festivities.

“Absolutely not,” said Canfield and Augello in a rare moment of complete agreement. “Public parks are for public events, not private parties,” said both men. They also agreed that Central Park should be used for the August 1 National Night Out Day celebration promoting positive relations between law enforcement agencies and the public. And Canfield added an aside to Poltanis, “Do we have a requirement in our public-parks-use policy about porta potty provisions for large groups? If not, we should add it.”