Summers board reviews $9.64M town budget, moves to stabilize ambulance fund and sets public hearing

Selectman Tim Keaney opened the special meeting of the Summers Board of Finance on March 10 by outlining a proposed town budget that seeks to "maintain current services" while addressing rising healthcare and energy costs. The town's recommended budget for fiscal years 2026–27 was presented at about $9.64 million, an increase of $343,910, or 3.7%, over last year.

Keaney said the board tightened an earlier proposal by cutting $150,000 from road maintenance and trimming $50,000 from the resident state trooper line because the new trooper is less senior. "We took $150,000 out of road maintenance," he said, explaining the reduction follows passage of a recent bond. He added the budget process included repeated director presentations and weekly hearings to vet departmental requests.

Officials also moved two and a half full-time equivalent positions from the ambulance fund onto the general fund — a change that increases the operating budget by about $212,890 but, presenters said, prevents the ambulance fund from becoming insolvent within about 18–24 months. Presenters described the ambulance fund's fiscal stress as driven primarily by capital costs, including an ambulance lease the board estimated at roughly $109,000 per year, and by underpayments on some calls, particularly Medicaid-level reimbursements.

Town finance staffer Brian Whistinger told the board he had begun projecting year-end results and gave a conservative surplus range for the town side of $75,000 to $100,000, while warning revenues were trending below earlier expectations. Officials said they will ramp up tax-collection efforts and revisit interlocal billing agreements with neighboring towns to recover ambulance costs.

The presentation highlighted department-level drivers: public works faced the largest percentage increase (about 10.5%) due to utility and machinery repair costs, while salaries and benefits represent a large share of the budget after a recent compensation survey. Presenters noted a four-year average budget increase of 3.1% compared with a cited 4.33% average annual inflation rate over a similar period.

During discussion of revenue assumptions, staff said the municipal stabilization grant had effectively been eliminated from projections and that bank interest income will be lower than previously forecast. The board was shown a mill-rate model illustrating that, under current assumptions, roughly a 2.36-mill increase would close a roughly $3 million gap if no other changes are made.

The board voted unanimously to set the public hearing on the budget for April 21, 2026, after a motion to do so was made and seconded. The board also discussed scheduling a special meeting on March 24 to review questions and finalize materials prior to the April 9 deadline to move the budget to public hearing.

The board's next steps include additional review of the ambulance fund data, follow-up with neighboring towns on interlocal agreements, and a public hearing on April 21. No formal budget adoption occurred at the March 10 meeting.