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Selectmen reduce proposed operating budget; send revised warrant, revenues to March town meeting
Summary
After reviewing department cuts and capital reserve adjustments, Loudon selectmen voted Feb. 5 to present a reduced 2025 operating budget and revised warrant articles at the March 15 town meeting. Officials said the changes trimmed roughly $75,000 from the operating budget estimate and lowered the estimated tax impact by about $0.10 per $1,000 of
LOUDON, N.H. — The Loudon Board of Selectmen voted Feb. 5 to present a revised municipal operating budget and updated warrant articles at town meeting after department heads identified line-item reductions and selectmen approved changes to capital reserve funding.
What the board did: Selectmen approved moving the operating budget and revised revenue estimates to the March 15 town meeting. They also approved a revised set of capital reserve and expendable-trust warrant articles that reduce some proposed capital contributions compared with earlier drafts.
Numbers and effect: Selectmen said they reduced the operating budget from $6,998,369 to $6,923,004, a net reduction of $75,365. The board’s estimate of the town’s operating tax impact fell from about $9.61 to about $9.51 per $1,000 of assessed value. On capital items, the aggregate proposed capital-reserve funding in the warrant was cut from roughly $1,240,000 to $915,000, reducing the estimated tax impact on those items from $1.70 to $1.26 per $1,000 (estimates provided by the town).
Major line changes: Selectmen listed specific savings achieved by department heads after a merit rollback and line-item scrutiny. Examples included modest reductions in police telephone and training lines, lowered gas and oil for the fire department, and cuts to planning and administrative wages. The board also reduced several proposed contributions to capital reserve funds (highway, road improvements, town garage, alternative energy, Arthur Colby Safety Complex upgrades, among others) and created or retained a smaller police equipment expendable trust (reduced from $10,000 to $5,000).
Public discussion: Several residents attended and urged the board to seek alternative revenue or reprioritize capital lines to boost employee retention. Speakers cited school-district spending as a major driver of the town tax load and urged selectmen to press the SAU and school board. Others suggested offsetting personnel retention bonuses by trimming “nice-to-have” funds such as some conservation and historical-society allocations.
Warrant items: Selectmen also accepted a citizen petition to raise the veteran’s tax credit from $500 to $750 as a petition warrant article; selectmen noted they do not take a recommendation on petitioned articles.
Vote: The board voted to present the revised warrant and revenue estimates and to send the operating budget to the March 15 town meeting for voter consideration.
Ending: Selectmen said the operating budget and capital warrant articles may be debated and amended by voters at the town meeting; the board encouraged residents to attend and weigh in on March 15.
