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Selectmen to pursue special meeting on revised $10.13M operating budget after department cuts
Summary
After department heads identified vacancy-driven cuts and public commenters urged firefighter staffing, the Alton Board of Selectmen voted to pursue a special meeting to present a revised operating budget totaling $10,132,064, a smaller increase over default than the defeated proposal.
The Alton Board of Selectmen voted March 24 to pursue a special meeting to present a revised operating budget totaling $10,132,064, town officials said.
The board's revised proposal narrows the town's requested increase above the default budget to $336,503, down from the $996,079 increase in the earlier warrant that voters rejected in March. Town administrators and finance staff told the board the bulk of reductions come from not filling six vacant positions across the police, fire and Department of Public Works and from lowering projected benefits and overtime lines.
Why it matters: the board said the revisions aim to balance restoring some services with voter concerns about a large tax increase. The town administrator and finance director emphasized the reworked package still covers the mandatory five-year revaluation and preserves merit increases where possible.
Department heads described operational trade-offs the cuts would produce. DPW representative Seth said removing funding for three vacant DPW positions reduces the department's flexibility and can lengthen response times for secondary tasks such as sidewalk clearing; he estimated vacancy-driven savings of about $190,216 and $27,823 in overtime reductions. Police Chief warned that planned retirements and departures led staff to reduce one SRO position and budget a six-month hiring lag. Fire Chief described call volume and overlap statistics from 2025 (1,211 total calls; 713 EMS calls; about 7.5% overlapping) and urged the board to consider restoring at least one of the fire vacancies, saying reduced staffing could affect response capacity and the town's Insurance Services Organization (ISO) classification.
Public comment influenced the discussion. Patrick O'Brien, who identified himself as a resident and full-time town employee and who spoke for Alton firefighters, asked the board to support the revised operating budget to retain previously voter-approved full-time firefighter positions, arguing the town faces a staffing crisis and needs the staff to meet response demands. Resident Steve Leiden, a 38-year career firefighter, also urged funding for staffing and training.
Board action and next steps: the selectmen voted to pursue a special meeting and take the revised operating budget through the budget committee process and a public hearing. The board directed staff to post full breakdowns of the revised packet on the town website and to hold public meetings where department heads will be available to answer questions.
Other business related to the budget: board members discussed options to place specific staffing questions on the deliberative floor (for example, restoring a single firefighter position could be moved as an amendment at deliberative session), and finance staff noted a fully loaded estimate for one full-time firefighter position (wages plus benefits and averaged overtime) used in internal planning was approximately $144,000; actual cost depends on rank, benefits and retirement contributions.
The motion to pursue a special meeting carried with all present voting in favor. The board asked staff to expand outreach and prepare materials for the budget committee and public hearings.
