Board Of Finance Cuts $150K From Town Budget

There was shouting, red faces and accusations at the May 14 Board of Finance meeting and that was before the vote.

Things got heated last night as the finance board discussed where they felt cuts should be made in the $15 million town budget following its failure at a May 9 referendum vote.

The $31.3 million school budget passed by a vote of 1,462 to 1,292.

Especially heated was the discussion over the budget and whether or not funds should be cut in light of a large showing of library supporters at the budget public hearing.

In the end, the finance board took into account the recent recommendations by the , but in a slightly different package.

The selectmen met in a special meeting May 11 to cut a minimum of $75,000 from the town's budget   In their cuts, the selectmen reduced the budget by these line items: $13,000 from the health and life insurance policy; $12,000 from electricity (a new rate goes into effect Sept. 1); $50,000 from the contingency line item; $21,000 from town hall personnel (one full-time employee will be moved to a part-time, non-union position with no benefits); $29,000 from the police department; $12,000 from the Selectmen's stipend fund and $13,000 from the Henry Carter Hull Library's budget.

In a vote by the Board of Finance, they approved reducing the town budget by $150,000 but making these changes: removing the cut of the selectmen's $12,000 stipend; changing the library's $13,000 cut to $2,000; increasing the police department's cut from $29,000 to $32,000, and removing a proposed town vehicle for $20,000.

The final cuts:

$13,000 from health and life insurance

$12,000 from electricity

$50,000 from the contingency fund

$21,000 from town hall personnel

$32,000 from the police department

$2,000 from the Henry Carter Hull Library

$20,000 for a proposed new town vehicle

With these cuts, the proposed new town budget for fiscal 2012-2013 is $14,898,814.  The mill rate is now proposed at 25.18.  The current mill rate is 24.92.  

There will be a public hearing on this reduced budget on Wednesday, May 16 at 7pm at .

A referendum vote will be held on Wednesday, May 23 at town hall from 6am to 8pm.