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Select Board approves draft warrants, reviews FY27 budget with $0.06 (3.87%) tax increase estimate
Summary
Board approved draft warrants and a salaries proposal and reviewed a draft FY27 budget that includes salary and service cost increases, an $80,000 heart monitor purchase for rescue, and an estimated $436,948 undesignated surplus with a projected $0.06 (3.87%) tax increase.
The North Berwick Select Board on Jan. 27 approved draft warrants to send to the Budget Committee and accepted a salaries proposal, both by unanimous 4-0 votes, after reviewing a draft FY27 budget showing several departmental increases.
Dwayne Morin presented the budget changes: overall salaries rose about 5 percent; rescue costs increased about 21.4 percent largely to cover a proposed $80,000 heart monitor the town would purchase; medical insurance was up roughly 9 percent and dental about 1 percent; retirement increased about 1 percent; dispatch rose by about $8,000–$10,000; and police costs increased following union contract terms (an added $110,000–$115,000). Dwayne said the Motorola contract one-time fee of $20,000 would come from undesignated funds and that he plans to offset recurring costs where possible.
He said the draft budget results in a $0.06, or 3.87 percent, increase in taxation and estimated an undesignated funding surplus of $436,948.00. Dwayne also noted four capital road projects and that he expects some one-time costs to smooth over in future budgets.
Selectperson Charles Galemmo moved to approve the draft warrants and to send them to the Budget Committee; the motion carried 4-0. Galemmo then moved to approve the salaries proposal as presented; the motion carried 4-0. Later the Board voted unanimously to accept the warrants for Jan. 20 ($844,522.58) and Jan. 27 ($17,463.33).
After executive session, the Board voted 4-0 to abate $5,665.00 from account number 1580.
