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Finance committee forwards FY2027 budget (3% net increase) to full council, public hearing set for May 11
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Summary
At a finance workshop April 27, staff and the finance committee reviewed the proposed FY2027 municipal budget — revenues rose about $589,000 while expenditures increased about $778,000 — and the committee voted unanimously to forward the balanced budget to the full council for a May 11 public hearing.
Bailey Douglas, finance chair, opened a finance workshop April 27 and turned the meeting over to Helene for a line‑by‑line review of the proposed FY2027 municipal budget.
Helene said, “I will start with just, we increased our revenue budget by 589,000 over the prior year. That's a 6.9% increase,” noting state revenue share adjustments, higher rescue billing and increased recreation and golf revenues. She said expenses rose by roughly $778,000 — about a 4.9% increase — driven by a 4% cost‑of‑living adjustment, higher health‑insurance costs (14.5%), and several position changes, including converting a deputy fire position to a full‑time firefighter and adding public works and parks staff. “That, between the revenues and the expenses, we saw a 3% increase overall to the FY27 budget over ’26,” she said.
Councilors pressed for clarification on potential cost savings from IT vendor changes and other line items; Helene said final numbers from the town’s IT consultant and vendor transitions may come after the finance committee meeting but she will circulate the figures when they are available. Members also reviewed a Q&A packet that captured a net $166,000 of adjustments made during the committee process.
Public commenter Shirley Story King thanked the committee for holding the municipal budget to a 3% target and urged the council to set measurable timelines for intermunicipal consolidation talks and to continue pressing the school board to lower its 5.46% proposed increase.
After discussion the finance committee moved that the committee forward the approved budget to the full council; the motion was seconded and carried unanimously. The council later set a public hearing on May 11 to consider and act on adoption of the FY2027 municipal budget.
Next steps: staff will circulate any updated savings estimates when available; the full council will consider public comment at the May 11 public hearing before taking final action.
