Canaan budget committee presents $6.38 million general-fund plan as residents press for water-rate fixes and transparency

The Canaan budget committee and select board held a public hearing on the town’s proposed 2026 budget, reviewing department-by-department totals and warrant articles and answering questions from residents about enterprise fund shortfalls and proposed personnel additions.

The committee presented the general-fund summary as $6,376,757.35 and noted departmental revenues of about $22,305,426; warrant articles were listed at $962,003.00. Committee members and finance staff read line-item totals for executive, town clerk, planning, cemetery, police, fire, sewage, water, library and other funds and explained that some worksheet figures were working drafts intended to be reconciled with the official budget pages.

Why this matters: Residents pressed officials for clearer year-over-year comparisons and for detail about enterprise funds that appear to show shortfalls. Those enterprise issues could affect future rates or require transfers if revenues do not materialize.

Many of the hearing’s questions focused on water and sewer operations. One resident asked whether the combined water and sewer lines would be nearly $170,000 “in the hole” next year. Officials responded that the apparent shortfall largely reflects timing and conservative use of year-to-date actuals after billing and software problems; staff said they had used three quarters of 2025 actuals and expected collections to improve. The town warned that rates must be revisited: “we are below the state's minimum for water and sewer rates, and we have to… raise the rates and change the calculations,” a committee member said, adding the town plans rate hearings in March or April for changes to take effect July 1.

Residents asked why needed rate changes had not happened earlier. A resident said, “I’m getting frustrated. Why haven't they changed 6 months ago?” Officials said billing transitions and prior COVID-era accounting had masked shortfalls until recently — when previously used COVID funds were removed from enterprise accounting — and that staff are now catching up on capital and rate calculations.

Ambulance service and intermunicipal billing also drew scrutiny. Committee staff reported ambulance expenses near $944,000 with limited reimbursement for calls in neighboring Grafton and Brecht; officials said they are pursuing revenue recovery through intermunicipal talks and letters and had added $150,000 in the budget to cover some baseline shortfall. One committee member said the town has begun raising ambulance rates in the last two months and is negotiating with Grafton to recapture costs.

Public commenters also pressed the committee on rising personnel and capital costs, citing a roughly $200,000 increase proposed for the police department and a request for an additional police officer and cruiser. The committee said some line increases reflect returning to pre-COVID staffing and that capital projects such as fire apparatus or new buildings would appear in the CIP or as warrant articles for voter approval. A committee member recounted a presentation about retention challenges saying neighboring communities were offering big signing bonuses; “we’re gonna have to do this or something like this in order to retain what we have,” the committee member summarized.

Several residents asked for clearer documents. One asked that summary sheets include the previous year’s figures alongside proposed numbers so taxpayers can see changes at a glance; committee members agreed that a side-by-side comparison would help. Officials confirmed interest income for 2025 at about $100,000.98 and said interest estimates and certain worksheet figures could be adjusted before the committee signs final forms.

Formal action: At the close of the hearing a committee member moved to recess to the deliberative session on January 31 at 1:00 p.m. at the high school; the motion was seconded and approved by voice vote. No roll-call tally was recorded during the meeting minutes.

What’s next: Staff said they will provide revised revenue estimates and a clearer summary sheet with prior-year comparisons; rate hearings for water and sewer are expected in spring, with any new rates scheduled to start July 1. The committee recessed to continue deliberations on Jan. 31.

Sources: Public hearing transcript; quoted speakers are identified by role or the speaker label recorded in the hearing transcript.