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Selectmen and finance warn of budget pressures; audit shows $7.54 million fund balance
Summary
Officials reported an expected elections line overrun of about $30,000 this year and signaled a larger budget request for next fiscal year; the town audit added $172,000 to fund balance leaving $7,541,879 at June 30, with several allocations noted.
Town staff and board members reported emerging budget pressures and shared the town audit summary during the meeting.
The administration said the elections line has been underfunded for multiple years and is projected to run roughly $30,000 over this fiscal year; staff intends to propose a larger, bottom‑up request for the next fiscal year to account for referendums, primaries and other election events. Town hall repairs and unforeseen equipment issues (including mini‑bus repairs and utility costs related to opera house work) were flagged as additional pressure points; staff estimated town hall repair overruns this year of roughly $7,500.
The board reviewed an audit report issued in December that the presenter said added $172,000 to fund balance, leaving a reported fund balance of $7,541,879 as of June 30. The presenter noted prior allocations from those funds, including $350,000 already budgeted for FY25–26 and other planned expenditures, and projected an available fund balance near $6.91 million (about 22% of the FY25–26 budget) after those earmarks.
No formal vote was taken on budget adjustments at the meeting; staff said they will return with proposed budget requests for several lines and reiterated an invitation for early public engagement in the budget process.
