Charlestown council finalizes budget tweaks to hold tax-rate increase near 2.6%

CHARLESTOWN — The Charlestown Town Council finalized a package of budget adjustments on a motion approved during the meeting, reducing the estimated tax-rate increase to about 2.6% and setting a tentative tax rate of $5.93 per $1,000 of assessed value.

The council approved removing roughly $85,000 from Fund 75, a $25,000 change tied to reevaluation funding and an additional $17,500 from Fund 75, and accepted other small technical changes. After those adjustments, the council’s current-year levy was reported as $24,491,073 (tentative), producing a projected tax rate of $5.93, up about 2.6% from the prior rate of $5.78.

Why it matters: The adjustments are intended to limit the visible tax-rate increase for residents while preserving reserves and key capital transfers. Council members said the optics of an increase above 3% would be politically and publicly undesirable, and they sought to balance tax-rate pressure with capital and reserve needs.

Council discussion focused on a few levers available before the town submits final levy numbers to the state. Members discussed using a $42,000-per-tenth-of-a-percent rule of thumb — previously described in the meeting as approximately $42,050 — to calculate how much to remove from the budget to lower the rate by one-tenth of a percentage point. Speakers also discussed changing the assumed collection rate used in the levy calculation (98% vs. 99%), a variable the town’s finance staff member, Ken, was said to manage.

Councilmember 1 moved to finalize the budget adjustments; another councilmember seconded the motion. "All in favor? Aye," Councilmember 1 said; the motion carried. The council also approved the March 7 meeting minutes earlier in the meeting by voice vote and later moved to adjourn.

Members clarified several budget-line items that will be reflected in the final transmitter letter to the council. Specific changes discussed included: - Removing ~$85,000 from Fund 75 to reduce the tax-rate increase to about 2.9% or lower, depending on other changes. - Withdrawing $25,000 tied to an ongoing revaluation effort, which would lower the rate further to roughly 2.6%. - Adding a further $17,500 reduction from Fund 75 as part of final balancing. - A small $558 technical increase expected from the state for tangible property reimbursement was noted but is minor.

Council members also reviewed several program- and reserve-related items to be clarified in the final materials: the Cherry Hill Playground (previously funded from the Charter Reserve), a multiyear ambulance-service step/contract (described in the draft as second of three increases), a $50,000 placeholder for engineering/planning services tied to anticipated development review, and the town’s hazard-mitigation planning status.

Speakers emphasized that some figures — including final state revenue reimbursements and the precise levy-collection assumption — remain tentative. Several members said they preferred starting with the 2.6% projection and returning with any necessary adjustments if state numbers or collection assumptions change.

Votes at a glance: - Approval of March 7 meeting minutes — approved by voice vote (all in favor). (Mover/second not specified in the transcript.) - Finalization of budget adjustments and proposed transmitter letter changes — motion made and seconded; approved by voice vote (all in favor). (Mover/second not specified in the transcript.) - Motion to adjourn — approved by voice vote (all in favor).

The council asked staff to finalize the transmitter letter and associated tables after the meeting. Staff indicated they will resend corrected files reflecting a discovered arithmetic correction before submission.

The council closed the meeting after affirming the adjustments and agreeing to finalize the accompanying documentation with the town administrator and staff.