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Selectmen hear budget presentations: recreation aims for self‑sufficiency; fire and tax budgets show modest increases
Summary
At a budget workshop after the selectmen meeting, the recreation director said the department's budget is largely self‑sustaining and unchanged from prior year levels, the fire commission sought a roughly 5% increase driven by payroll and equipment maintenance, and the tax office explained a one‑time printing increase tied to an extra billing cycle.
The Board of Selectmen reconvened for Budget Workshop #2 after completing the regular meeting and heard three departmental budget presentations.
Stephanie Crane of the recreation department said she had not requested additional town funding for the year and that the department’s budget was roughly $180,000 previously and about $185,000 in the current proposal, a change she attributed to minimum‑wage and salary adjustments. Crane said the department’s goal is to be self‑sufficient and that a recreation reserve fund is available if year‑end needs arise.
Deputy Fire Chief Matthew Pereira and acting fire officials presented the fire commission’s budget and said the package reflects about a 5% overall increase driven by payroll and increased maintenance and parts costs. The presenters said last year the fire department executed five transfers totaling about $10,900 for repairs and that some payroll line items, if unused, would revert back to the town.
Laurie Bushnell of the tax department described a quiet budget with limited requests; board members asked about a jump in printing and binding costs, and Bushnell said the increase resulted from an extra billing cycle the prior year and that she would follow up with clarifying accounting codes.
Board members asked line‑item and coding questions in each presentation and praised the recreation department’s progress toward self‑sufficiency; staff noted follow‑up actions for coding and any needed transfers.
