When town and school officials prepare and present their budgets, the first thing most people look to are the increases. What costs more this year than last? Makes sense, yes.
But in some categories, there were actual decreases that helped offset the increases. Did it still result in an increase? Depends on the category.
Here's one example for the "General Government" budget line item for the town budget. One Patch reader asked what items led to a $200,000 increase in the category which went from $4,230,015 (current budget) to $4,449,505 (proposed budget).
According to Finance Director Kevin Kane, the $200,000 increase was driven by the following increases (and decreases):
Increases:
- $15K – Increase in Social Security
- $32K – Increase in Pension Plan (Highway workers)
- $275K – Increase in Pension Plan (Police Department workers)
- $80K – Increase in Pension Plan (Other)
Decreases:
- $56K – Decrease in Workman’s Compensation costs
- $133K – Decrease in Health & Life costs
