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Foster council hears preliminary 2025 budget, pursues grants for police station, rec lighting and radio upgrade
Summary
Council reviewed a preliminary fiscal 2025 budget and staff outlined several grant applications: $600,000 for rec‑field lighting (with a local match), an application for 800‑MHz radio equipment (roughly $475,000) and a renewed push for federal/state support to cover police station overages.
Council Finance Director Kelly reviewed a preliminary 2025 operating and capital budget Wednesday and described several pending grant applications the town submitted to reduce local costs.
Kelly said the draft budget aims to keep the tax levy increase below 4 percent and that staff trimmed roughly $360,000–$370,000 of proposed expenditures from the original draft to reduce pressure on the levy.
Pending grant applications: Kelly described three active funding efforts. The town applied for a $600,000 grant for lighting at the recreational fields and parking lot; she said the town proposed a local match of about $100,000 to secure the full package. The council also applied for roughly $475,000 in equipment for an 800‑megahertz radio upgrade (radios, dispatch consoles and supporting hardware); the budget includes a $95,000 local match if the grant is awarded. Separately, council members said they would seek federal assistance to cover cost overages on the planned police station; Kelly said staff would apply for a discretionary grant to supplement the project.
Kelly said the town previously bid for a $2 million earmark that was cancelled and that staff would pursue a fresh $1 million application tied to the police station. She cautioned that these grant processes can take nine months to more than a year to finalize and that the town must avoid obligating funds that are later ineligible for reimbursement.
Other budget details: Kelly said the budget assumes a 97 percent tax collection rate and flagged uncertainty in meals‑and‑beverage receipts after an accounting error slowed collections. She also described likely higher refuse/removal and tipping‑fee expenditures next year and listed capital priorities including roadwork (with state matching assistance), a potential six‑wheel dump truck purchase and second‑year payments on the Hydrodig unit previously approved by the council.
Councilors asked for more detail on staffing and whether the town would need additional employees to operate a town‑owned housing project or to maintain new facilities. Kelly said any new full‑time position would be included in bond underwriting or grant budgeting when applicable.
Ending: Kelly said staff will continue refining revenue estimates, monitor RFP returns for refuse collection, and report back before finalizing the levy. No votes were taken on revenue assumptions at the meeting.
