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Committee debates whether town donations should be restricted to program uses
Summary
Budget committee members disagreed about whether the town should accept restricted gifts earmarked for capital, salaries or programs versus providing unrestricted contributions to local nonprofits. Some members favored flexibility for agencies; others raised the idea of clarifying options in the committee report and warrant.
Committee members debated whether the town should accept restricted gifts or require that appropriations be unrestricted general support. One member asked whether there is "any value on some of these donations to restricting it?" and suggested considering donor-directed restrictions for capital, building or program uses. Other members pushed back, noting many organizations prefer unrestricted support because it allows flexibility, and that restricting funds can be a technical challenge for town reporting.
The discussion led members to recommend clarifying the committee's practice in its write-up to the select board and to reiterate that the committee vetted only organizations that submitted formal written requests. The committee did not adopt a new restriction policy but agreed to include guidance in its message to the select board and to remind charities of submission deadlines so donors and the town understand how requests are handled.
