Earlier this month, the public got its first glimpse of the town’s side of the budget. After a few minor changes, First Selectman Bill Morrison and Selectman Rick Hartenstein voted—in the absence of Selectman Kurt Vail at the January 16, 2025, meeting—to send the current version to the Board of Finance.
The budget that the Board of Selectmen (BOS) will send to the Board of Finance for approval represents just a .48% increase or $77,749 more than this year’s budget. During the discussion, Hartenstein questioned a couple of increased line items. For instance, the Capital Projects & Leases line went up about $126,000. This, Morrison said, is to reroof the Parks Department garage, a project that was taken out of the budget last year. “It didn’t kill us, but it’s time to do it,” he added.
Director of Public Works Devin Cowperthwaite also spoke to an increase in his general highways budget. Last year’s budget included about $850,000 for paving, though the ARPA Committee kicked in another $150,000 to give the department the $1 million needed to get paving projects underway. In order to keep up the momentum, that budget has increased again. He added that if you took out the paving and increases in salaries and benefits, the budget would represent a decrease for his department.
While there are still a few unknowns, according to Morrison, such as how much state funding the town will receive or exact insurance costs, those moving targets may not be nailed down in time for the February Board of Finance meeting. Morrison said that he has used last year’s state funding numbers as a stand-in for now, and if anything, he expects the insurance figures to decrease.
With this in mind, he asked Hartenstein if it would be necessary to bring the budget back to the select board if the budget numbers decreased. After some discussion, they decided any money left over after the final insurance numbers are in and state funding is announced would best be allocated to a Capital Improvement Projects fund.
“I don’t think in the years I’ve been selectman, we’ve had a budget like this,” said Hartenstein. “I hope we’re not tightening the reins too much.” Morrison assured him that he had developed it in conjunction with the department heads and has said several times that it will not impact services or projects. Stay tuned for the Board of Finance's feedback after the January 22, 2025 meeting.