Lincoln Selectboard revises FY27 budget after auditor adjustments, cuts reduce estimated tax increase to 7.85%

The Town of Lincoln Selectboard on Jan. 22 approved a revised FY27 budget and updated Town Meeting Warning after staff identified large auditor-related adjustments and declines in non-tax revenue that had produced an unexpected spike in the town's estimated municipal tax rate.

Town Administrator Trish Waugh told the board that after the Selectboard approved the FY27 budget on Jan. 20, staff completed estimated revenues for the town report and found the tax-rate increase had been calculated at 25%. Waugh said that jump stemmed from a $250,000 loss of non-tax revenue in the General Fund and a $150,733 loss of non-tax revenue in the Highway Fund. She also reported that the FY26 General Fund surplus of $162,736 dropped to $10,289 for FY27 and that current use revenue fell by $51,000 due to a state recalculation.

Waugh described additional accounting impacts on the Highway Fund: a $46,638 surplus in FY26 became a $55,145 deficit in FY27 after auditors' adjustments were not entered into the town's accounting system over a period of at least five years. She characterized that as a roughly $130,000 negative adjustment to the highway offset by an unplanned increase in the Paving Reserve Fund, producing a net non-tax revenue loss of $101,783 for FY27.

To reduce the projected tax-rate shock, staff proposed and the board approved multiple cuts: removing the Article for a $175,000 paving-reserve transfer, lowering the transfer from the Highway Fund to the Paving Reserve to $50,000, and reducing the Capital Equipment Fund transfer to $50,000. General Fund reductions included trimming professional services from $7,000 to $2,000; Listers/professional services from $10,000 to $7,000; IT hardware from $10,000 to $2,000; and reducing the Planning Commission budget from $11,000 to $2,000 with the expectation most of its expenses will be covered by a grant.

Those actions, the board recorded, lowered the Highway Fund FY27 budget to a 2.15% decrease (about $24,908 less than FY26) and reduced the General Fund increase to 1.69% over FY26. The board's changes produced an estimated FY27 municipal tax-rate increase of 7.85% under the revised figures.

MOTION: Chair Tim McGowan moved and Joe Martell seconded to approve the revised FY27 budgets and revised Town Meeting Warning with the discussed changes; the motion passed (minutes record PASSED 4/0/1). The Selectboard adjourned at 1:48 PM.