Andover, Conn. — The Board of Finance voted Sept. 24 to schedule the charter-required conference with the Board of Selectmen and Board of Education at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 15, to be held in the Town Hall community room with hybrid capability. The motion was made and seconded and carried by the board.

Members also voted to recommend a nonbinding target asking departments and the Board of Education to present budgets that do not exceed a 1.5% increase from current levels. The board discussed that the target is advisory, not binding, and that departments may justify higher requests with supporting information.

The board agreed to ask the town administrator to invite an experienced moderator to keep the tri‑board meeting on task; the board said Jed Larson was a preferred moderator if available. Town Administrator Eric agreed to prepare a proposed calendar/schedule of budget events and to circulate it to the board about 10 days before the Oct. 15 meeting.

Why it matters: The tri‑board meeting is the charter mechanism for setting goals and objectives for the upcoming budget season. The 1.5% target is an advisory figure the Board of Finance will use to frame discussions with the Board of Education and the Board of Selectmen during the budget cycle.