Budget committee restores $78,000 in lodging-fee revenue; Select Board edits lower proposed municipal rate to $2.71

The budget review committee voted to restore $78,000 in estimated lodging-fee revenue after the Select Board added the amount back into the proposed fiscal year 2027 budget.

The committee met in joint session with the Select Board and reconciled changes the board made on March 10. A staff member summarized the Select Board changes, including the reinstatement of town clerk revenues and a reduction in the proposed municipal tax rate from $2.76 to $2.71. Committee members said restoring the lodging-fee revenue would realign the committee’s recommendation with the board’s position heading to the annual town meeting.

Committee members debated whether to rely on the expected lodging-fee changes absent a fully enacted fee schedule. “We were being asked to vote on $78,000 as still a budgeted amount with an expectation that it will happen,” said a budget committee member, noting the committee had previously voted against including the revenue when no formal proposal existed. Other members said substantial work had been done and the number represented a reasonable placeholder.

The committee discussed the fee ceilings presented by staff: a proposed lodging rate not to exceed $68.72 and a campgrounds rate not to exceed $21.29, which, if fully realized, were said to show a theoretical ceiling of more than $260,000 in revenue but were unlikely to be reached. One staff member summarized the figures to the group during the discussion.

A committee member moved to reinstate the $78,000 in estimated lodging revenue; the motion was seconded and approved at the table. Members said the change is an advisory statement that will be reflected in the committee’s recommendation on the warrant.

The vote was one of several reconciliation steps the committee took to align its recommendations with the Select Board’s edits before certifying the warrant for the annual town meeting.