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Wolfeboro budget committee reviews revenues and default budget; staff warns default could raise tax rate and force cuts
Summary
Committee reviewed $5.31 million in estimated general fund revenues, examined a DRA portal default budget of $33,858,044 (up $185,603 mainly from rolled-in collective bargaining costs) and heard a preliminary estimate that if all warrant articles pass the tax rate could rise from $3.21 to $3.78. A resident urged clearer, footnoted presentation of numbers.
At a Dec. 9 meeting in the Wilco Public Library, the Wolfeboro Budget Committee reviewed estimated revenues, examined the DRA portal default budget calculation and discussed potential service impacts if the town lands in a default budget.
"These revenues in the amount of $5,313,750 on the general fund are used to offset taxes," Jim Shannon, the town finance officer, told the committee as he walked members through the Excel worksheet he had distributed.
Shannon said the DRA portal lists the starting default budget as $33,858,044, an increase over last year's figure largely because last year’s voter-approved collective bargaining wage articles automatically roll into the default calculation. He told members that incremental department changes and collective bargaining adjustments produced a calculated net default increase of $185,603.
Committee members pressed staff on a range of specifics — why a preliminary property-tax figure can look lower than the prior year, why motor-vehicle registration receipts differ from earlier estimates, and which line a meals-and-rooms tax appears on. Shannon said some figures were conservative estimates and that he would confirm details with the assessing office and provide corrected slides and a summary before the public hearing.
On the potential tax impact of warrant articles, Shannon offered a preliminary, quick calculation: "If all warrant articles and the operating budget were to pass ... the tax rate would go from $3.21 to $3.78," an increase of about $0.57 per $1,000 of assessed value. He said the figure was a rough calculation and that he would finalize impacts in the DRA portal after the select board finalizes warrant articles the following day.
Shannon warned of possible program and staffing cuts if the town falls into a default budget. "There will be positions which will be eliminated," he said, adding that some services or days of operation might be curtailed and that the town would seek other options, including asking the select board to consider a second town meeting should a default occur.
A resident addressing the committee urged clearer public presentation of the budget numbers and asked the committee to footnote where charts include enterprise funds, which are not funded by general taxation, and to clearly label what is "proposed," "approved" or "default" so voters are not confused. The resident noted differences in numbers printed and discussed during the meeting and asked for consistent, explanatory language across the packet and presentation.
The committee set deadlines for presenters to submit short narratives for the deliberative session and said staff will circulate an updated packet and presentation before the public hearing. The select board will finalize warrant articles on the committee's schedule the following day; the committee plans to vote on its recommendations and will present the budget and warrant-article explanations at the deliberative session.
