ST. JOHN | St. John adopted its 2009 general fund budget on Monday at $5.9 million, with about a $1 million deficit town officials expect to shrink by the end of this year.

"We'll have a balanced budget," Town Manager Steve Kil said.

Town Council members in recent meetings have discussed the possibility of imposing a garbage fee on St. John residents. The town currently pays for residential garbage pickup, an amount expected to reach $900,000 in 2009, Kil said.

In other business, the Town Council adopted the 2009 salary ordinance. It does not include any pay increases, and it eliminates longevity pay for 2009.

Longevity pay is a yearly stipend for full-time St. John employees. The money is paid at the end of the year, in addition to employee salaries, and it is based on how long an employee has worked for the town.

Cutting longevity pay for 2009 will save the town about $42,000.

Employees attending Town Council meetings have spoken out against the longevity cut.

St. John police Cpl. Jim Turturillo told the council on Monday that he wants to poll town employees and see if they would support a 1 percent pay cut across the board instead of having their longevity pay cut. Turturillo said it would save the town more money and help improve the relationship between town management and employees.

Depending on salary and years working for the town, the 1 percent cut could be more or less than the longevity pay for each employee.

The 1 percent across-the-board pay cut was an option that town leaders discussed. But it was taken off the table, and the longevity pay cut was the favored choice, Councilman Mike Forbes said.

Earlier in the night, Forbes made a motion to carry out an immediate freeze on hiring, promotions and raises. The council supported and approved the motion.

The town already had an understood freeze in place, and Monday night's action formalized that, Council President Michael Fryzel said.