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Bow selectmen adjust budget lines, aim to keep tax impact near 3.9% and boost paving funding
Summary
Selectmen approved a package of line-item budget changes — trimming overtime, adjusting health-insurance assumptions, reducing fuel/salt estimates and reallocating small savings — and directed residual savings to paving; they also voted to transfer $150,000 from the boat-ramp capital reserve to the community-center fund.
At the meeting on Dec. 16, town finance staff and the selectmen reviewed a draft budget initially showing a 4.3% tax-impact. Town staff presented recommended adjustments and selectmen proposed additional line-item changes to lower the net tax effect.
Selectmen moved to reduce police overtime from $100,000 to $75,000, change health-insurance assumptions for several new hires to lower projected benefit costs, reduce diesel (fuel) and road-salt estimates and remove a proposed construction-standards contract line item. The board also agreed to modestly increase some revenue lines (other licenses and motor-vehicle fees) to narrow the gap.
"If that is the only tool we have, what would be helpful to hear is which one of those options?" one selectman said in discussion around balancing safety and the budget. The board directed staff to target a net tax-impact near 3.9%; any residual savings above that threshold are to be reinvested into the paving budget.
The board also approved a motion to transfer $150,000 from the boat-ramp/rec revolving capital reserve into the community-center reserve, describing the transfer as part of a multi-year commitment and asking rec department leadership to confirm priorities at budget committee review.
The motions were carried by voice vote. Staff will finalize the adjusted budget and forward it to the budget committee for review.
