Alton Town ballot and budget committee approves multiple 2026 department budgets, limits fireworks funding

ALTON TOWN — The Alton Town Ballot and Budget Committee on Oct. 22 reviewed department budgets for fiscal 2026 and approved multiple line-item budgets, with officials again flagging wage pressures carried forward from two years of default and the potential tax-rate effects of a townwide revaluation.

The most prominent vote was approval of the assessing budget, proposed by the board of selectmen at $176,386 for 2026. The committee also approved audio-visual equipment maintenance ($2,000), conservation ($24,060), emergency management ($11,003), the Skillman Museum budget ($8,444), the household hazardous-waste program ($27,568), a $1 placeholder for interest on tax-anticipation notes, patriotic purposes (including Fourth of July fireworks) at $23,690, street lights at $33,500 and the town’s general welfare appropriation (amount discussed but not specified in the meeting record). Minutes and several routine items were also approved.

Why it matters: committee members and staff repeatedly said wage increases are driving many line-item changes and that the town remains constrained by prior defaults. Those budget choices affect services, hiring and, ultimately, the town’s tax rate.

Town finance staff framed the broader fiscal picture and several constraints. “Most of the increases you're gonna see are wage…