Board of Finance endorses $32.28M combined budget, approves $500,000 reserve transfer; mill to rise 0.49

The Brooklyn Board of Finance voted April 27 to endorse the town government budget of $7,412,642 and a combined Board of Education and town total of $32,280,225 for the 2026-27 fiscal year, approving a $500,000 transfer from reserves intended to reduce the projected 0.49-mill increase.

The endorsement followed a series of motions that trimmed several departmental requests. Board member Bob Smanik moved to shorten the proposed Town Fire Administrator appointment from nine months to three months at $24,000; Dave Lee seconded and the motion passed. Smanik also moved to eliminate Parks and Recreation’s requested part-time seasonal position ($12,864) and to cut its professional services request from $60,000 to $30,000; that motion likewise passed, a set of reductions the board said lowered the budget by $95,864.

Finance staff member Shelley Cates told the board that one prior change had already cut $2,000 from the Quiet Corner Peer Support Group request and that the town government budget—"including Capital, Fire Commission, and Parks and Recreation"—now stood at $7,412,642, a 0.41% increase over the prior year. Combined with the Board of Education, she said, the total budget is $32,280,225, a 3.51% increase, which the board calculated would translate to a 0.49-mill increase to the tax rate without using reserves.

To limit that impact, Dave Lee moved and Lance Metzger seconded a $500,000 transfer from the town reserve fund; the motion passed. After approving that transfer, the board voted to approve the finalized budget numbers and forward the budget to the Town for the public hearing and vote.

During public comment, Kayla Burgess asked the board to remove the $75,000 Town Fire Administrator request entirely. Public commenter Austin Tanner urged the board to "do their job, be more conservative, and no increase." Sherri Vogt thanked the board for its work and said she wished "more was taken from Reserve so the mill rate could be .2." Gene Fleming and other residents asked questions about the school budget surplus and how surplus funds are handled.

The board confirmed the public hearing on the proposed budgets will take place May 4, 2026, at 7:00 p.m. at the Brooklyn Middle School Auditorium; the town vote is scheduled for May 18, 2026, at 7:00 p.m. If the budget passes, the Board of Finance will reconvene after the May 18 hearing to set the mill rate. The meeting adjourned at 8:16 p.m.