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Hinsdale Finance Committee approves budget requests and Free Cash allocation, flags possible override
Summary
At its April 23 meeting the Hinsdale Finance Committee approved General and Water & Sewer budget requests and allocated approximately $195,000 in Free Cash (motion passed with one abstention). Chairman Shaun Galliher said stabilization balances are limited and warned the town may face a 2½% override soon.
On April 23, 2026 the Hinsdale Finance Committee voted to approve the town's General Budget requests and the Water and Sewer accounts and to allocate Free Cash after a detailed review of town accounts.
Bob Graves, Town Administrator, handed out a spreadsheet of all town accounts and led the committee through line-item reviews, noting many accounts were level-funded while some increases were contractual or department-head requests. After discussion, the committee voted to approve the General Budget requests as proposed; the motion passed unanimously.
The committee also reviewed the Water and Sewer accounts and approved them as proposed; that motion likewise passed unanimously. The committee then considered Free Cash. Members reported a remaining balance of approximately $195,000 after prior allocations. Committee members discussed using a portion to bolster the Capital Stabilization fund as a contingency for a potential compactor failure at the transfer station, but they said the small balance made that option undesirable. A motion to approve the Free Cash allocations as proposed passed with one abstention; the minutes do not identify the mover, seconder or the member who abstained.
Chairman Shaun Galliher reported that the budget reflects an approximate 8.6% increase overall and about a 5.3% increase excluding the schools. He said the General Stabilization balance is about $900,000 and the Capital Stabilization balance is about $98,000, and warned that, given rising costs, the town could be looking at a 2½% override in the near future.
The committee approved the April 9 minutes as written and adjourned at 7:35 p.m. The next Finance Committee meeting is scheduled for Thursday, April 30, 2026, at 6:00 p.m. in the Community Room at Town Hall. The minutes were submitted by Mary A. Rice, Secretary.
