Board of Selectmen Budget Workshop, November 27, 2023

$100k cut from initial budget. $400k more cuts needed to meet 4% tax cap.

The board began its long and painful work to craft a budget that conforms to the 4% tax cap imposed by the voters. With inflation raging far above 4%, the tax cap is pushing the board to cut services and to employ warrant articles to remove items from the operating budget to have the voters approve them as special expenditures. For example, last year the board moved a large paving project from the operating budget to a warrant article even though the board considered the project to be an essential expenditure.

Early in the meeting, Selectman Morin noted that there was a $500k difference between the initial proposed budget and the 4% cap. The board would need to look at every department to meet the 4% number. Later in the meeting, the Town Administrator noted that the exact budget limit is as yet unknown, and that the town probably would not end up needing to cut as much as $500k. [The reason the figure is unknown is that the calculation for the tax cap is based not on the prior year’s spending but on tax revenue. Additional tax revenues that come from, for example, new additional housing units, get included in the figure before the 4% cap is applied.]

Selectman Bartlett said “ the folks at home need to know that the 4% cap is really going to start cutting services here.” Selectman Welch said, “we need to look at moving things into warrant articles.”

The meeting was mostly a line-by-line examination of the budget during which moderate reductions were proposed and decided on for many individual line items. All decisions made during the budget workshop are subject to revision in the ongoing budgeting discussions. 

Perhaps the most controversial issue was the proposed changes to the Fire Department budget. Selectman Bartlett said, “I think the fire budget is below where it needs to be, but we’ll get there in the coming years.” One major item in the budget is to raise the Fire Chief’s salary from  $11,440 to $70k. Selectman Welsh said, “we can’t hire a Fire Chief for $11,000. We have to vote to hire a Chief.” Selectman Shirland noted that there would need to be a warrant article to make the Fire Chief a full-time position. Selectman Morin noted that the town could have a part-time Fire Chief. 

Some other potentially controversial issues discussed were:

• Police cruiser - normally the operating budget includes one new police cruiser each year to replace the department’s oldest cruiser, with cruisers being used for five years. Selectman Shirland noted that the department’s oldest cruiser had 89k miles on it. There was discussion about moving the cruiser purchase out of the operating budget and into a warrant article. Selectman Morin noted that the voters almost always pass warrant articles funding emergency services. Selectman Bartlett strongly disapproved of the idea: “What if the voters take it out? These are necessary.”

• Town Deliberative Session - the $6k budget for televising the session was eliminated.  

• Community newsletter - $8k budget proposed to be eliminated. Flagged for further discussion.

• Legal expenses - expenses for the town attorney are substantially over budget this year. The Town Administrator does not expect next year’s expenses to be within the proposed budget. Selectman Morin noted that the Zoning Board was a major contributor to legal expenses. The town’s zoning ordinance is now a “40-page book that is subject to legal interpretation.” 

After three hours of work, the workshop resulted in removing about $100k from the proposed initial budget.