Buckfield staff outline 8.9% municipal budget increase, cite falling state revenue and health‑insurance changes

Town of Buckfield officials on the municipal budget presented a proposed municipal expense plan that is about 8.9% higher than the prior year, town staff said during a budget workshop. Interim director/commissioner Cam (interim town manager) said the increase reflects higher supply and wage costs and a projected drop in state municipal revenue sharing.

The proposed municipal budget does not include new debt, Cam said, but it reflects targeted adjustments: a 2.5% cost‑of‑living recommendation for most employees, a restructuring of firefighter compensation tied to certification levels, and a proposed improvement in the town’s employee health‑insurance contribution to make recruitment easier for public works and other positions.

Cam said staff modeled health‑insurance changes to move individual coverage from an 80/20 split to a 90/10 split for the town share, and to adjust the employee/children coverage toward a 70/30 split while keeping family coverage (employee + spouse) at 50/50. He said this change is intended to help recruit candidates with dependents, which Public Works hiring has struggled with.

Why it matters: municipal revenue sharing from the state is projected substantially lower than last year, Cam said; that shortfall alone would have left a roughly $100,000 gap even without budget increases. The town built modest local revenue increases into the forecast, but staff said they still expect pressure on the property tax rate unless revenues change or voters approve specific warrant articles.

Key budget lines and context - No new debt service: staff said they do not plan to add debt service items in the coming year and are not proposing truck or building purchases in this budget cycle. - Wages: staff proposed a 2.5% COLA for most town employees. Fire and rescue pay scales show larger proposed raises tied to certification and recruitment needs. - Health insurance: Cam described outreach to other municipalities and proposed raising the town’s share of premiums (examples: 90/10 individual; 70/30 employee/children; 50/50 family), with the explicit intent of improving the town’s competitiveness for applicants. - Municipal facility and maintenance: staff recommended continuing selective maintenance and moving some building repair dollars into a reserve so larger work (windows, carpet/floor replacement) can be planned across years rather than paid from one fiscal year.

Revenue and timing Cam said state municipal revenue sharing had been about $575,000 last year but current projections from the state come in lower; staff used the state’s published projections in their model and cautioned voters to watch state updates. Local revenues were modeled to increase modestly, by roughly $14,000 in staff estimates, and two debt items that fell off produced another $30,000 in relief.

What’s next Staff scheduled three budget workshops (including this meeting) and said two more will follow; they encouraged residents to raise questions by email if they cannot attend. Cam also urged residents to follow the RSU 10 budget process and attend the school budget informational meeting and the RSU annual budget meeting in May, which staff said are the last opportunities before town meeting votes on school appropriations.

Ending note: staff emphasized the budget is a working draft. Cam urged public engagement on both municipal and school budgets, and said the Select Board will consider public feedback before finalizing the warrant for voters.