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Acton leaders flag 9% school budget increase; delay letter to Sanford pending reconciliation review
Summary
Select Board members said a recent School Department/Warrant & Finance review indicates about a 9% increase in the school expense side, raising concerns about future tax-rate pressure. The board also agreed to review Mousam Dam Coalition reconciliation materials before sending a letter to Sanford.
Select Board members said a five-hour School Department budget review with the Warrant & Finance Committee suggests roughly a 9% overall increase on the expense side, and they cautioned that recurring salary and contractual costs could push tax-rate impacts into future years.
Select Board member Tom McGurty said salary increases of about 4% across the board, combined with step increases, make the effective increase higher than the base. "Now it will move back into a more normal rate of growth, CPI or inflation plus one or two percent, would be my guess," McGurty said, warning the town will likely see those costs reflected in future tax rates.
The Town Administrator said the School Committee and Warrant & Finance Committee plan to vote on school warrant articles and revenues on Feb. 12; the Select Board expects those results to be incorporated into the town warrant once finalized.
On intermunicipal finances, the Select Board discussed work by the Mousam Dam Coalition. Adele Scritchfield, former coalition chair, told the board she worked with Sanford staff and produced reconciliations for 2018–2024; she recommended Sanford prepare a clear budget-to-actual reconciliation and a template for future reports so Acton can follow the account flow. The board agreed to hold off on sending a formal letter to the City of Sanford until members have reviewed the materials the Town Administrator resent.
Warrant housekeeping items the board directed staff to change include removing a town obligation to furnish cutting edges and bolts, deleting a preset winter-rates line while authorizing the Select Board to negotiate winter road rates if needed, listing two sanders explicitly in the roads article, and removing the phrase "other than road equipment" from municipal-surplus disposal language.
Next steps: board members will review the Mousam Dam reconciliation materials and the Town will incorporate school warrant article results after the Feb. 12 meetings.
