The Selectmen are asking the Finance Committee to transfer nearly $230,000 from other departments and the town's reserve fund to balance last year's budget.

Certain departments in the fiscal year 2012 budget, which ended June 30, went into a deficit -- and the town needs to balance them by July 15 in order to avoid penalties.

The Selectmen discussed balancing the budget during their July 10 meeting.

Town Accountant Brian Kudish, who joined Wareham in late May, said that the departmental deficits came from "unforeseen reasons," ranging from spending for emergencies such as Hurricane Irene to a $3,500 sprinkler system in Onset that no one seemed able to identify.

Selectman Cara Winslow said that though the departmental deficits totals are less than last year, they are still unacceptable.

"Far be it from me to be a scrooge but we really have to here -- Christmas stuff is not an unforeseen expense," said Winslow, referring to a deficit for Christmas spending. "It doesn't look good for us to spend money that's not a necessity when we're cutting other things."

Winslow also took issue with a $58,000 dollar deficit in the budget for legal expenses.

Winslow said that it is the policy of the Selectmen to approve legal bills, but she did not recall seeing them over the year, and she questioned how that could happen.

Town Financial Analyst Derek Sullivan said that a total bill for the entire year's service was given last month. He added that monthly billing could be a strategy going forward.

Sullivan explained on Wednesday that making transfers to cover deficits after the fiscal year ends was a common process found in many communities. "Every year you do the year-end transfer," he said.

State law allows transfers to be made from departments with surpluses to departments with deficits, but does not allow for large transfers of money.

Transfers of money can equal 3% of the budget of the department from which it is being transferred, or $5,000 dollars, whichever is higher.

Many of the recommended transfers that Selectmen discussed on Tuesday were above that limit.

Finance Committee member Frank Heath said on Wednesday that the law was designed to encourage proper budgeting. He also said that the money in the reserve fund was for "unanticipated expenses -- usually emergencies."

Because of the law, Interim Town Administrator John Foster advised using money from the town's reserve fund to help lessen the deficit before making the transfers.

The reserve fund started off as $135,000 at the beginning of 2012, Sullivan said. Currently, there is $83,000 in the reserve fund.

If the town simply let the departments go into deficit, a possible option, it would face monetary penalties, said Sullivan.

Sullivan said that making the transfers would not lead to penalties, and in the end, would be the lesser of two evils.

Selectmen were pleased when Foster mentioned that using the town's reserve fund could help reduce the deficit and keep the transfers legal.

"Even if we are picking the lesser of two evils, I still would prefer to do this the right way," said Winslow.

The Finance Committee planned to discuss the matter at its Wednesday, July 11 meeting.