By Theresa Knapp 

In February, Interim Town Administrator Jeff Nutting held a “financial summit” to detail the town’s financial position as it heads into FY24; it was not good news. 

“This is as bad as I’ve ever seen it,” he told a room full of town officials and residents. “I don’t know how bad it’s been in the past but this is really serious…We have to fix what’s in front of us, we can’t go back and revisit what’s behind us.”

Prior to receiving state aid, Nutting had calculated the budget shortfall at $2.25 million, which he called a “huge, huge deficit.” After receiving state aid in March, the deficit was reduced to $1,903,895. 

“There are no good answers here, you have a deficit of $1.9 million,” Nutting said, adding the town needs to decide how they are going to “share the pain.”  

At a subsequent meeting on March 20, the Select Board voted unanimously to support an override which will be proposed to voters in May. An override would need to be approved by voters at both Town Meeting and at the ballot box. 

At press time, details - including the final override request - were to be ironed out at a meeting of the Select Board and Finance Committee on March 27. 

Override scenarios discussed at a March 20 meeting of the Select Board and Finance Committee, where they also heard from school officials, included a $1.35 million override with an average cost to taxpayers of $562 in FY24, and a $1.5 million override with an average cost of $625 in FY24. Those amounts are in addition to other taxes paid annually. 

Taxpayers can calculate their estimated cost at $41.50 per $100,000 valuation. 

“No one loves paying more taxes but you live in a wonderful community and you want to keep it that way,” Nutting said. 

Select Board Chair Glenda Hazard acknowledged that everyone’s expenses are increasing at home but to see the increases at the town level, on a much larger scale, is “more shocking.” 

Selectman Bernie Stock said his most valuable asset is his property, and decreasing services provided by the town and schools could prevent young families from moving into town. He said, “We’re going to have to find a [override] number up there that works,” referring to the budget presentation on display. 

Selectman Brian Keyes cautioned against cutting public safety. “We are at a very serious level of understaff there.” 

During the budget process, departments were asked to submit a “level services budget” (to keep current services) which totaled $29,280,378. They also submitted a “requested budget” (to provide best service to residents) which totaled $29,889,246. Nutting is recommending a budget somewhere in between at $29,597,582. 

Recordings of the meetings, which include Nutting’s calculations, can be found at https://bit.ly/3yW9yDg