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Select Board reviews CIP and agrees to include estimated revenues in tax‑impact calculations ahead of March town meeting
Summary
The board reviewed the capital improvement plan (public works, fire, library, and town hall projects) and agreed to include estimated revenues when calculating warrant‑article tax impacts for town meeting presentations; departments will confirm which CIP items are in 2026 draft budgets.
Select Board members reviewed the multi‑year Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) and discussed which department projects should be prioritized in the 2026 budget cycle.
Staff summarized CIP highlights: public works equipment purchases and gravel upgrades, an ambulance replacement payment schedule (estimated $131,250), multi‑year fire department equipment and station improvements, and a proposed new library totaling $7.1 million staged across multiple years. The board asked department heads to confirm whether listed CIP projects are already included in the draft 2026 budgets and requested follow‑up on several high‑priority items, including safety‑complex second‑floor considerations and library HVAC planning.
Separately, members discussed conflicting guidance from the Department of Revenue Administration about whether tax‑impact calculations for warrant articles should include estimated revenues. Several board members favored including estimated revenues to give voters a clearer picture of net tax impacts; the board agreed to proceed with that method for the upcoming warrant materials and to drop a proposed warrant article intended to change that treatment, subject to later DRA feedback.
The board set procedural follow‑ups: staff will email department heads to reconcile the CIP entries with submitted budgets, and the Select Board will prepare educational materials for town meeting explaining how tax impacts are calculated.
The board also confirmed the town meeting calendar and budget‑hearing schedule, with town meeting proposed for March 14 and budget hearings in January.
