Wolfeboro Budget Committee recommends $35.9 million operating budget; estimates $3.14 tax rate impact

The Wolfeboro Budget Committee voted Jan. 13 to recommend a $35,913,502 operating budget for 2026, a proposal the committee said is driven largely by collective bargaining increases, rising health-insurance costs and planned ambulance staffing changes. The committee’s recommendation on Article 5 passed on a roll call vote of 9-1-0.

Chair John MacDonald opened the public hearing and noted the town’s recent revaluation, saying Wolfeboro’s combined tax rate of $8.36 per $1,000 is the ninth-lowest among New Hampshire municipalities. Town Manager Jim Pineo read the operating- and default-budget figures into the record and told the committee the Select Board will adopt a final default budget at its Jan. 21 meeting; the draft default shown to the committee was $34,073,480.

The committee and staff highlighted the main drivers behind the proposed increase from the 2025 approved General Fund: negotiated AFSCME and NEPBA contract items, wage adjustments for nonunion staff, higher health-insurance assessments and targeted additions, including proposed firefighter/EMS positions tied to a planned ambulance transition. Suzanne Ryan walked the group through how budget line-series are grouped (100s for pay, 200s for benefits, 300s for outside services, etc.), and the presentation reviewed department-by-department totals and revenue estimates.

Several residents sought clarification about line-item math and presentation figures. “The figures provided to the public in the presentation do not match the figures provided by Ms. Ryan,” said resident Betsy Andrews, who asked for a breakout of contractual obligations and elections-related increases. Town Clerk Pat Waterman provided a memo explaining an increase in the Elections line (from $19,900 to $28,900) to cover five elections in 2026, and Finance explanations tied the remainder of the Town Clerk increase to salary and other operating changes.

Committee members also discussed the town’s unassigned fund balance. Paul O’Brien and Budget Committee member Brian Deshaies said the General Fund unassigned balance—after applying $377,448 for a SchoolCare assessment and using fund balance to lower the tax rate—stood at $4,113,717 per the 2024 audit. O’Brien and Deshaies described ongoing discussions with state insurance officials and SchoolCare representatives to resolve the pool assessment that produced the one-time charge.

Next steps: the committee continued the public hearing to Jan. 22 to consider any remaining items and will meet for the deliberative session on Feb. 3. The proposed operating budget will go to the town warrant for the March 10 vote.