Charlestown reviews preliminary budget; $1.1 million surplus includes $915,000 reserve transfer

Charlestown town officials on an in‑camera budget review said the town is projecting a roughly $1.1 million surplus in the draft budget, largely because of a $915,000 transfer from a reserve fund that increased available unassigned fund balance.

The surplus figure is preliminary and officials said a pending state review of audit materials and a forthcoming grand‑list estimate will determine final totals. Finance staff said they will provide an updated audit and grand list estimate ahead of a Friday meeting to finalize the budget.

The surplus matters because it affects how much the town can return to reserves, fund capital projects and set the tax rate. Finance staff characterized the $1.1 million as a mostly one‑time increase attributable to the reserve transfer; without that transfer the draft surplus would be about $300,000, the staff member said.

Council members and staff discussed several revenue and expenditure line items that remain unresolved. Finance staff said they corrected prior‑year deferred revenue for recreation, raising the tentative recreation revenue projection to about $108,000 (from an earlier $52,000 figure), but cautioned that program enrollment and year‑to‑year swings make projections uncertain.

Officials also agreed tentative fuel‑price assumptions for the budget: $3.60 per gallon for on‑road gasoline and $3.70 per gallon for marine fuel. The council asked staff to use a single set of fuel projections consistently across departments and said they would refine those figures before final adoption. Oil and other energy lines remain subject to revision as actual rates become available.

Capital planning and reserves were central topics. Councilors discussed setting aside money in “Fund 75,” the town’s capital/maintenance fund, as a placeholder for projects that depend on outside approvals. One council member said $125,000 had been requested to be put into Fund 75 this year to replenish the fund after recent draws for urgent building repairs; staff said that moving budgeted dollars into Fund 75 would leave them available if an external approval later arrives.

Other items flagged for further work included revenue tied to CRCC (the town recycling/transfer station) stickers and bag‑tag fees, prior‑year tax adjustments that Joanne (staff) will review, and enterprise fund transfers that will be finalized once utility and CRCC revenue estimates are settled. Finance staff reported a draft set of transfers that included a $300,000 transfer for open‑space preservation and a revised Fund 75 balance of $408,050; after recent edits staff said total transfers in the draft were $743,050.

The meeting closed with the chair requesting a motion to conclude the session; a motion and second were recorded and a vote was called, but no roll‑call tally or explicit vote outcome was recorded in the transcript. Staff said they would present updated numbers and the grand‑list estimate at a Friday meeting to finalize the budget.

Charlestown officials emphasized the draft nature of the numbers and said they will not finalize spending decisions until the audit and grand‑list information from the state Department of Revenue are received.