Ledyard - Approaching the end of the budget season for the next fiscal year, Town Councilor Linda Davis and Mayor Fred Allyn recently sparred over how binding the annual fiscal document is to town spending.

At the heart of the issue is the implementation of the budget for the current fiscal year, which went into effect on July 1, 2009. The Town Council's budget, which was approved by voters, eliminated several positions, but some staffing issues at Town Hall remain unresolved.

"I guess what I take issue with is, we pass a budget and then you're not executing the budget the way we passed it," Davis said during Wednesday night's Town Council meeting. "How do I explain that to the taxpayers?"

In the past few months, councilors have criticized Allyn for overspending on legal fees -a budget Allyn manages.

Allyn said it was unreasonable to expect the town government to follow the budget drafted by the Town Council and approved by voters to the letter, saying that expenses and revenues often change unexpectedly over the course of the year.

"A budget - and for people who are in business, they'll understand it - a budget is what you start with for an estimate of what you think you're going to be able to do," Allyn said. "It is not cast in stone. There are very few businesses that can create a budget and then not have anything change during the course of the 12-month period."

But Davis said she believes residents hold the town to a higher standard.

"I would say that the taxpayers in Ledyard do not consider the budget 'an estimate' when they're voting," Davis said. "It just seems that we waste an awful lot of time putting the budget together if it's simply an estimate."

Town Councilor Jim Diaz, chair of the Finance Committee, recently introduced discussion of eliminating any amendments to town budgets going forward once they are approved by voters. The measure remains undecided.

The town council voted last week to approve a $48 million budget and is holding a public hearing at 7:30 p.m. on Monday at the Ledyard High School auditorium. The plan calls for nearly across-the-board spending cuts, preventing property taxes from increasing.

Also at Wednesday's meeting, councilors approved adding a ballot question to the May 18 budget referendum, asking voters whether they believe the town should consider closing the Gales Ferry Library in favor of keeping the Bill Memorial Library open with expanded services and hours.

m.collette@theday.com