Dalton Select Board reviews preliminary 2026 budget, flags recycling and transfer-station costs

At a working session, the Dalton Select Board reviewed a preliminary 2026 budget that staff said would increase spending by about 4% and incorporate roughly $1,030,000 in unanticipated revenue that the town legislative body would vote on in March. "I think it's $1,030,000 is the number," Staff member said when summarizing the accepted funds to date.

The meeting focused on several budget pressure points: recycling and disposal costs at the transfer station, an invoice dispute with a former contractor, welfare direct-assistance funding, and insurance and personnel costs. Staff said a recent Casella contract shows a charge of $55 per ton plus roughly $435 a load in trucking; a separate manager at another facility reportedly quoted $165 per ton, which staff said they would confirm. "We have a contract. It's $55 a ton. We've received no notification of any increase, and I have a hard time believing they go from 55 to a 165," Staff member said.

Because of the recycling uncertainty, staff temporarily increased the transfer-station line for disposal and transportation by $8,000 and noted the overall transfer-station budget was up $10,000 to cover planned work and potential new recycling costs. Staff offered a quick estimate that adding an average extra monthly load would raise annual recycling costs by about $7,000–$8,000 if the town pays trucking; bringing material to the disposal facility directly could reduce that to roughly $2,000–$3,000 after mileage and labor.

Members also discussed a late invoice from Horizons Engineering seeking $6,250 for sampling and reports that include work as far back as 2018; staff said the town would research whether those charges had already been paid and whether the invoice complied with the contract. "How can you justify billing us for stuff that was supposedly done seven years ago?" Staff member asked during the discussion.

Other notable adjustments in the draft included: increasing direct welfare assistance (members agreed to a $8,000 planning figure after noting $7,300 was spent in 2025), a proposed modest increase for highway repairs and materials (about $2,700), and higher insurance and employee-benefit costs tied to an additional employee electing health coverage. Staff said most expenditures were entered into the accounting system and the draft would be refined before warrant-article decisions.

Board members discussed options to trim spending — including reducing legal budget lines and drawing from capital reserves for one-time transfer-station work — but agreed the draft was reasonably lean. The board asked staff to confirm the Casella contract terms and any price-change notices and to return with a refined budget and grant/revenue clarifications at a future meeting.

Next steps: staff will verify the contractor billing and recycling-pricing questions, refine the draft budget and prepare warrant-article options for the select board to consider ahead of the March vote by the town legislative body.