Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Budget Adoption topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Charlestown council adopts tentative FY2025–26 budget with amendments; includes footnote, cleanup items and budget hearing set for May 5
Summary
Charlestown’s Town Council on April 14 adopted a tentative FY2025–26 budget with several amendments — including a $75,000 planning allocation for Ninigret Park funded from the unassigned fund balance — and set a public hearing for May 5, 2025.
On April 14, 2025, the Charlestown Town Council adopted a tentative municipal budget for fiscal year 2025–26, approving several amendments and directing staff to present the budget at a public hearing on May 5, 2025.
Key changes adopted at the meeting included: - Adding $75,000 to purchase services for Ninigret Park (line 830‑6065) to fund initial design/engineering work; the council voted to fund the amount by transferring $75,000 from the unassigned fund balance to revenue line 350.3530 (vote 4–1). - Removing a previously planned transfer to the CRCC enterprise fund (about $181,800) after the council revised CRCC rates and recognized increased CRCC revenue, per Treasurer Gormley’s explanation. - Adjusting expenditures upward by $5,488 on a named line (780.788) and specifying how to allocate a CRCC enterprise fund balance of $8,214 toward roll‑off containers (staff to create the appropriate line item). - Instructing the treasurer to add a footnote to the budget packet clarifying that the budget commission’s page notes reflect the commission’s recommendations and may not reflect council changes; the council adopted the footnote unanimously.
Treasurer Gormley and Town Administrator Jeff Allen were acknowledged for preparing the budget and fielded questions about how allocations would affect the tax rate. Councilors debated the appropriate size of the Ninigret Park planning allocation (some favored a $50,000 cap, others $100,000); the council settled on $75,000 after discussing likely design and surveying costs. Councilor Stokes remained opposed to taking funds from the surplus for that purpose and voted against the transfer.
The council authorized the town clerk to present the tentative budget at the scheduled public hearing on May 5, 2025. The town auditor’s final audit will be presented at the April 28 council meeting; the treasurer said the current unassigned fund balance available for transfer was approximately $348,020 and separately referenced an unassigned balance figure of roughly $7.6 million shown in the annual audit documentation on the town’s website.
The council’s adoption of the tentative budget was unanimous (5–0) after the amendments were recorded and cleanup adjustments were made.
