Thursday, March 31
Town Budget Solidifying
At a Board of Finance meeting last week, there was a lot of discussion on the budget that we will be presenting to the town. A lot of tough decisions had to be made, but ultimately I believe the town budget that came out of that meeting will address our highest priority needs. Overall, the town budget proposed increase is less than 1%.
One of the areas we had to grapple with is a drop in our debt service. The principle and interest payments from some of our past projects have declined or ended which gave us some room in the town budget. I proposed using this debt service reduction to help fund some of our most pressing capital needs.
The proposed capital spending increases for roads and equipment. Road maintenance has not been properly funded for the past few years and the impact can be seen as we drive around town. We have identified over $2 million of road work that needs to be done and the proposed budget funds less than a quarter of that amount. Roads degrade exponentially over time so it’s very important that we fix as much as possible now as the repair costs will continue to climb if we put the repairs off.
Another area of capital spending that has been increased is in our equipment. The town runs a very larger operation. The highway department, parks and recreation, police, and fire department all have a wide assortment of equipment that is essential for their department to function. Inevitably, equipment must be replaced. The trick is to replace it before we sink too much money into repairs to keep it running. Planning for the replacement of this equipment is a prudent fiscal decision and the budget puts away money specifically for that purpose.
The last area that I wanted to ensure funding for was some technology upgrades. We need to have as much data on our town as possible available to the public and to potential businesses. Some of the upgrades we are doing are mandated, but many are to increase the efficiency of our operations.
Operational Budget Changes
Operationally, the budget has some changes as well. First, the Health Department and its two employees are removed from the budget as part of the transition to the Chatham Health District. Those two employees will be hired by the health district.
Another proposed change is the addition of a part-time social services coordinator. The combination of Youth and Social Services has allowed us to help those less fortunate much more effectively. However, the staff has been spending less time dealing with youth issues and the new position will help alleviate that issue.
I’ve also requested another Police Officer to start halfway through the fiscal year. Over the last three years, we have lost three patrol officers. A vacant position was not filled, we have discontinued a second resident trooper, and we have assigned one officer to the schools as the School Resource Officer. Another police officer will add additional protection and help us move towards achieving 24/7 local police coverage.
- Gregg Schuster
First Selectman
Previous Selectman Notes can be viewed at
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