The Hooksett Budget Committee voted by voice on Nov. 7 to accept the council'recommended municipal budget and the wastewater aggregate as presented.

The council'recommended municipal operating budget shown to the committee was $22,918,112 (town only). Committee members and staff then discussed how wastewater and other enterprise numbers alter the total to a combined municipal and wastewater recommended figure of $25,699,803. The committee voted to accept the presented package after clarifying that the municipal recommendation itself did not include the wastewater number and that the committee would consider the two numbers together for the aggregate vote.

Why it matters: The vote moves the council'recommended figures forward to the next steps in the town'wide budget process and fixes a set of numbers that will be compared to the default budget the town would adopt if the committee did not approve adjustments.

Key details: Finance Director Christine Tuxbury presented the council'amended worksheet and described the lines the council had changed. "Last night, the council did amend their recommended operating budget. I have, put the Excel spreadsheet in front of you with all the lines, with all of their additions related to insurance plus the extra funds for the fire vehicle maintenance," she said. Tuxbury said the council'recommended total for the town (excluding sewer) was $22,918,112.

The committee asked whether accepting the recommendation included wastewater; staff clarified the wastewater budget is presented separately to the town and the committee and that the combined total would be used to compare against the default combined total the town faces if adjustments are not approved.

Vote and next steps: A member moved "to accept the budget as presented," the motion was seconded, and the committee approved the motion on a voice vote. The minutes record the voice "ayes" and the chair'led call for opposed; no roll'call tally was recorded in the transcript. Committee members asked staff for outstanding detail on several lines (notably police warranty/maintenance and transfer'station revenue effects) and scheduled additional sessions and a December 11 meeting to review warrant articles and outstanding documentation before finalizing any warrant language.

Community context: Committee discussion also centered on employee benefit costs, how to keep town compensation competitive for recruitment (firefighters and police), and whether the town and school could combine buying power for insurance—questions committee members asked staff to explore further.

Ending note: Staff will provide additional back'up documentation and the wastewater numbers for the committee in advance of the next meeting; members left the record that union articles and some bond requests will likely not be ready until January.