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Stoddard selectmen approve several budget items, postpone burial‑fee decision
Summary
The selectmen approved budget line items including a Cemetery Commission increase, Planning Board prepayment for Master Plan work and a $20,200 software line for the Clerk/Tax Collector, while deferring a decision on increasing burial plot fees and postponing utility budgets pending actuals.
At the Feb. 2 meeting, the Stoddard selectmen approved multiple budget actions and set several follow‑ups. The Cemetery Commission will proceed with a proposed 10.5% budget increase intended for road maintenance and upkeep; the board deferred a separate decision on increasing burial plot fees.
The Planning Board’s budget increase from roughly $13,000 to about $19,000 was reviewed; the selectmen approved using $7,500 from the current fiscal year to prepay Master Plan work. Town building maintenance budgets were scrutinized: Gould House maintenance was set at $13,000 and the fire station maintenance line was clarified with a proposed decrease. The Town Clerk/Tax Collector software budget line of $20,200 was approved.
Other recorded actions included authorization to refund Sugar River Bank for a duplicate tax payment and setting a property cleanup deadline of July 30 for a particular parcel. A fundraiser for a child named Ayla during a recreation event was also approved.
Selectmen asked the Town Administrator and the treasurer/bookkeeper to work with their financial software provider to produce tailored financial reports and requested actual utility expenditure data (2024–25 actuals and 2025–26 year‑to‑date) before finalizing the electric and heat budgets.
