Selectmen Make Cuts to Proposed Budget

On Wednesday, April 9, 2025, the Board of Selectmen (BOS) met for a special meeting during which they discussed the results of the budget referendum. While the Board of Finance (BOF) did not ask the town to cut its side of the budget, the selectmen seemed to unanimously agree that the resounding defeat (1,664 - 671) required them to revisit the numbers.

Selectman Rick Hartenstein asked if there were any projects or items that could be moved, adjusted, or otherwise trimmed. Selectmen John Whetton said he felt the record voter turnout spoke volumes, and that it’s not just about the schools but the “overall tax burden.” They then set about identifying cuts that would not impacts services or 

Hartenstein suggested that the selectmen look to cut 50% of its increase, or roughly $77,000. First Selectmen Bill Morrison suggested that $20,000 be taken from the transfer station budget with the suggestion that they put off replacing a roll-off container.

Hartenstein suggested cutting $20,000 from the facilities maintenance budget. BOF Chair, Steve Geryk, was also present and he said that in the past, Facilities Supervisor Bruce Davis, had told the BOF that he often had money leftover for maintenance because he did not have enough staff to get to all of the projects that needed to be done.

The selectmen kept chipping away until they came up with $77,000 in cuts, including money from the Parks Capital Equipment and from the DPW garage. Of course, anytime cuts are made to the town budget, paving is brought up. Whetton said he thought the voters had come out and supported the roads program last year, and that it was important to leave it intact. While the money is needed in all of these line items, he said the hope was to avoid a possible third referendum.

Once the first $77,000 was identified, Geryk calculated that in order to get the overall mill rate increase down to about 1 mill, they would need to cut a total of $107,000. So, they got back to work and Morrison listed a number of small items. Everything from $500 for employee recognition to about $9,400 set aside as stipends for local sports leagues. As we learned during the Little League debacle, most of the local sports leagues do not take this stipend anyway. 

All told, they came up with $107,500 in cuts. Hartenstein asked Geryk if he thought the selectmen were doing the right thing by preemptively making cuts. He said that in terms of trying to get the budget passed, yes, this was a good idea. However, he also expressed concerns that if the budget does not pass on this round, it will leave the selectmen with less wiggle room next time. 

There will be another BOF meeting at 5:30 p.m. on April 10, quickly followed by a 6 p.m. BOS meeting. They BOF is expected to take action on the budget, then the BOS will vote to “Approve Town Meeting Call and Resolution for Referendum.”