Lacking Full Figures, Belleair Shore Compiles Expenses for FY 2009-10By Leo Coughlin BELLEAIR BLUFFS - Pinellas County has not yet compiled the taxable values of property but Belleair Shore's Town Commission forged ahead with work on its budget at its meeting Tuesday night. What Mayor John Robertson and Commissioners Bob Schmidt and Richard Jordan did (John Hayes and Ray Piscitelli were absent) was to compile expenditures for fiscal year 2009-10 that begins October 1. The figure they came up with - it's an estimate right now - was $84,850, down about 5 percent from the current year's outlays. Belleair Shore's diminution of expenditures over the past several years has been nothing but phenomenal. There are those who can remember when the tiny town's budget soared to the $100,000 and more level, mostly because of nagging lawsuits. Under the careful and prudent leadership of Robertson and very dedicated commissioners, the town has kept expenses to what was really needed. Robertson said that with expenses for the next fiscal year laid down, the commission will await the figures from the Property Appraiser's Office and adjust the budget accordingly. The commission has not yet set dates for budget hearings but will do so once property values are known and a millage rate, expected to the same or less than the current rate, is set. City Clerk Bonnie Dhonau will then get the information so that TRIM notices can be sent out.
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