By Philip Sean Curran, Staff Writer
Spending will grow by a little more than 1 percent in a proposed $61.9 million municipal budget that raises taxes for the second year in a row, with nearly half of the budget funding employees salaries and repaying debt.
The town this week released details of the spending plan, one that council voted to introduce on Monday. At a home assessed at the average of $810,191, municipal purpose taxes are going up by about $110, town administrator Marc D. Dashield said. The budget will require $32.9 million to be raised in taxation, representing little more than half of all revenue in the budget, municipal data showed.
This marks the fourth budget council will approve under the single form of government. Mr. Dashield said the town is still realizing consolidation-related savings through a $99,000 reduction in police salaries and wages, based on retirements. Overall, salaries and wages are increasing by $32,338, to $17.7 million, budget data showed.
“And again, we’re moving in the right directions when it comes to salary and wages,” he said at the council meeting, where he presented what he called a “maintenance budget.”
In terms of how the money is being spent, pension costs are rising by $163,900 — one of the line items going up.
“You’ll see, most of the increases are really for our routine fixed costs,” Mr. Dashield told Mayor Liz Lempert and council members.
Employee salaries and wages represent 29 percent of all spending, while debt service accounts for 18 percent of it, according to Mr. Dashield’s presentation.
Officials are looking to have more in-depth budget conversations in April, the same month the council is due to adopt the spending plan.
Scott Sillars, chairman of the Citizens Finance Advisory Committee, a volunteer board that advises council on fiscal matters, said Wednesday that the budget is “uneventful.” He said there was nothing “we had to worry about” in it.
