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If a rainy day comes to New Market in the second half of fiscal 2010, the town will only have $6,200 to spend on it.

Less tax revenue from Adventure Park USA and overspending on items such as code enforcement and permitting costs led to a $35,129 gap in the town's $300,000 budget.

The town will be able to keep all of its programs, except the crossing guard program it already cut, but will spend half as much money as was originally budgeted.

The five–member council voted 4-0 at its meeting Wednesday night — Councilwoman Rita Mueller was absent — to cut spending by $20,289, and make up the difference with $14,840 out of its reserve fund, leaving $6,265 for a rainy day.

The reserve contained $50,608 when the town originally adopted the budget in June.

Mayor Winslow Burhans III said he and Town Clerk Deb Butler discovered the gap during an audit in November.

The council cut spending from several programs, some of which had either been discontinued or were no longer in season.

One line item, $3,000 budgeted for the town's Christmas in New Market festival, had only paid out $446. Most of the money spent on the festival came from funds raised by the committee of residents who organized it. The council readily agreed to slash the item by $2,500.

The town had budgeted $11,000 to pay for two crossing guards in front of New Market Middle and New Market Elementary schools, but spent only $5,175 on it before canceling it in December because too few students were using the guards.

Burhans said workman's compensation insurance has not yet been paid for the program, so the council agreed leaving $6,000 in the budget should take care of any outstanding debt.

Some cuts were more difficult.

Burhans suggested the town's tree maintenance budget item be cut in half, to $2,000, having already spent $700 so far.

However, with the possibility of ice storms this winter, Councilman Jake Romanell suggested the $2,500 budgeted for conferences and continuing education be transferred to the tree maintenance fund.

Romanell agreed to pay out of his own pocket for any conferences he would attend as the town's liaison to the Maryland Municipal League.

Councilman Shane Rossman motioned for the budget adjustments, and was seconded by Councilman David Price.

This is the second time in fiscal 2010 the town has had to dip into its reserve. In September, the town's share of the highway user revenues — fees collected by the state from car sales tax, gasoline taxes and vehicle registration — dropped from a budgeted $33,229 to $3,725.

The council voted to close the gap by taking $29,503 from the reserve.

E-mail Christian Brown at chbrown@gazette.net.