The Jenkinsville Water Company held an unannounced budget workshop meeting on March 28 where the board reviewed and discussed the proposed 2012 budget, according to the brief minutes of that meeting. Although still a draft version, the budget suggests that the troubled water company will spend 10 times the amount spent just two years ago on “professional fees,” which usually encompasses legal expenses.

The draft budget predicts that the company will receive $372,600 in revenue in 2012, a $52,975 or 14.2 percent decrease from last year. Water sales are expected to be $340,000, up $15,000 from 2011, and reconnection fee charges are expected to be $1,500 more. Tap-on fees are expected to bring in only $2,500, compared to last year’s $7,000. The largest expected revenue loss is under the column titled “water line installation fee.” Last year the company’s revenue for that item was $60,000, due largely in part to water lines being run for the V.C. Summer Nuclear Station. This year’s revenue in that category lists a $0.

The board also expects the company’s expenses will be lower, at $369,450, which is $51,745 or 12.2 percent lower than last year’s expenses of $421,195. A line item for conference expenses has more than doubled, from $7,000 in 2011 to $15,000 in 2012. The company budgeted only $2,500 for conferences in 2010. Eleven percent of the company’s expenses, or $40,000, is being budgeted for professional fees, which is $10,000 more than in 2011 and $36,000 more than in 2010. Salaries for the five employees is increasing by $8,000 for 2012.

Expenses for contract labor in 2012 is expected to cost $5,000, compared to $55,000 in 2011. The company will spend $7,000 on health and liability insurance as opposed to $13,000 in 2011. Additionally, the water company will pay $40,000 on its Rural Development loans and interest.