Budget review flags accessible voting-machine costs, insurance rises and new fire-station debt

At a Jan. 21 joint meeting, town staff and committee members began detailed review of department budgets and revenue projections for fiscal year 2026, highlighting an array of cost pressures and revenue adjustments that could affect the town’s final spending plan.

Planning and building: Danica Melone, interim director of Planning & Building, said administration costs rose modestly because of merit increases, COLA and higher insurance and retirement rates. She recommended removing a line item for social media services from the Economic Development Authority budget after the EDA’s social-media contract passed to the Affordable Housing Committee, which told staff it did not intend to take on the ongoing work. Melone also noted no current redevelopment applications for the IDG Building and stated the property is not planned for redevelopment into a Hooter's.

Elections: Town Clerk Linda Guyette outlined a recent law requiring an accessible voting machine at every election (both town and school), not just an accessible tent. Guyette estimated the equipment cost at roughly $3,000 to $7,000 per election and said coding would cost about $3,000. Committee members discussed whether the expense should be budgeted under Election Administration or split across lines; Guyette noted the school reimburses the town for school election costs. The Committee agreed she should review and, if needed, revise the Computer Services line and return with an updated recommendation.

Finance and debt: Finance staff reported insurance products are rising more than 10% overall while projecting slightly lower town health and dental costs because fewer employees are expected to enroll. Mrs. Lilli Gilligan said one driver of rising claims costs is increased use of GLP-1 weight-loss medications and that assessing alternate carriers (for example, HealthTrust) would require a lengthy review. She also said the new fire station bond will add about $951,000 to annual debt service, while noting the Cold Stone Spring bond carries an interest rate of 0.81% and that roughly $6 million of that project is covered by grants. The town is shifting more capital to reserve funds and expendable trusts to limit new bonding where feasible.

Administration and human services: Nicole MacStay said administrative budgets were generally flat apart from modest increases to support staff development and rising costs for Patriotic Purposes (flags, bands). She reported a rise in welfare requests after the end of some federal funding; roughly 80% of aid goes to rent, with the remainder primarily for utilities. The meeting also noted HB1569 requires replacement of certain forms used by the Supervisors of Checklist, which could increase printing costs.

Next steps: Committee members asked department heads to review and, where appropriate, rework budget lines (for example, the Town Clerk’s Computer Services amount) for a future meeting. Several members emphasized conservative revenue estimates and requested staff return with updated worksheets for FY26.