FY 2023 Town Manager's Proposed Budget

February 22, 2022

Re:    Town Budget for FY2023

This letter accompanies the Manager’s Proposed Budget for FY2023 for the fiscal year that begins July 1, 2022.

This budget recognizes the prior-year financial condition of the Town as reported in the latest audited financial statements. Those documents show a General Fund balance of $5,777,381 on June 30, 2021 which includes an Unassigned General Fund balance of $4,758,809 plus $59,993 Non-spendable, $38,731 in Restricted, $897,319 in Committed Reserves, and $22,529 Assigned for subsequent year’s expenditures carried forward. For FY2023 we expect non-tax revenue to decrease slightly over the previous year.

This budget proposes a total municipal spending of $12,871,563, an $812,404 increase over last year’s approved budget. The share of the expenditure committed to the property tax would be $4,958,970, an increase of $402,590 over last year’s budget.

This budget would propose a COLA of 5% and an additional market adjustment of 1% for those employees below the area median as recommended by the Personnel Committee.

The budget proposes a new full-time Assistant Clerk. This reflects the recommendations of the Council’s Committee on Personnel.

This budget includes proposed capital spending approved by the Council’s Capital Committee. These include pavement maintenance, a replacement Rescue, replacement of Tank 3, one plow truck, a loader, a major culvert replacement and a new server.

This budget proposal will receive a Public Hearing in March followed by Council and Budget Committee review actions. The final document will reflect the policy choices of the Council and will be submitted to the voters at the annual Town Meeting in June.

           Sincerely,

           Bill Giroux, Town Manager