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Select Board previews 2026 budget; fire‑tower repair, EV chargers, library furnace on docket
Summary
At the Jan. 27 meeting the Select Board reviewed the draft 2026 budget and several warrant articles, including a $20,000 repair estimate for Great Hill Fire Tower, a $6,000 library furnace request, EV charger planning contingent on grants, and a reported $73,000 insurance savings from changing plans.
The Tamworth Select Board reviewed a draft 2026 budget and several warrant articles at its Jan. 27 meeting, discussing capital items, personnel changes and revenue assumptions ahead of the Feb. 10 budget hearing.
Board members flagged a late petition warrant (Article 12 in the distributed version) asking for $20,000 to repair, maintain and paint the Great Hill Fire Tower. The Conservation Commission commissioned an engineering study (contracted for about $5,400), and members debated whether to fund the work from the expendable trust/capital reserve so the town would not need to raise the amount in taxes this year, noting the trust would require replenishment later if used.
The administrator said the library furnace need is included in the capital improvements section and that the furnace repair or replacement is being planned in the budget. Separately, Mary (the library representative) told the board the library is eligible for renewable energy buyback credits and estimated that revenue at about "$400 a year," which the board agreed could be recorded as anticipated income and reduce the town appropriation to the library.
On insurance and operating savings, the administrator said the town moved all employee health insurance into one line and switched to a high‑deductible, lower‑premium plan with Anthem through a private broker, "which saves the town about $73,000 this year compared to last year." The administrator said the change reduced the town’s overall personnel costs in the draft budget.
The board also discussed an EV‑charger project championed by the Energy Commission. A board member said the project is "fully dependent on grant funding," not on town tax dollars, and that the approved plan calls for level‑2 chargers if funding is secured.
Transfer station operations featured extended questioning: residents queried minutes showing increased part‑time hours for transfer station staff. Board members said the hours increase (to a potential maximum near 30 hours) reflects reassigning maintenance responsibilities to an existing employee to avoid subcontracting maintenance and that the board recently hired a new transfer station supervisor, BJ Pesha, who "started last weekend."
Administrative finance highlights included a reported account balance of $5,571,517 and an estimated NSI fund balance rollover of about $400,000 from 2025 into 2026 (leaving roughly $1.7 million in unassigned funds). The board was told the town’s total appropriation for 2026 is down about 11.8% from the prior year in preliminary figures.
Formal votes during the meeting included approval of the Jan. 13, 2026 meeting minutes and several routine items: a timber yield tax levy of $3,070.59 for Map 414 Lot 69; approval of a driveway permit for Map 401 Lot 18; and accounts payable totaling $366,761.57. The board adjourned at approximately 6:10 p.m.
