Two expenses have driven the budget proposal up: another police officer and health insurance.
These costs add up to $164,682 – about 92 percent of the total increase in the proposed operating budget.
The Police Department has asked to add another officer to its roster starting Jan. 1, 2017 – halfway through the fiscal year. The officer will cost the town $32,368, according to Barbara Miller, the Select Board chair.
The addition would be the first time the department has increased its staff in 22 years, she said. In that span, the number of calls it responded to increased 22 percent.
“The Police department is a 24/7 operation,” said Miller, at the deliberative session Tuesday. “Each shift is staffed with only two uniformed officers. The additional officer would enable the department to put a uniformed officer on the streets Monday through Friday.”
Joe Byk, a former Selectman, looked past the cost of the officer for just next fiscal year. He insisted the town instead give him the nitty-gritty.
“What is the fully-loaded cost?” he reiterated numerous times at Tuesday’s hearing.
After consulting with Nancie Vaihinger, the finance director, Scott Guinard, the police chief, estimated another officer would cost at least $60,000 each year.
The rise in health insurance costs is because numerous employees are have either sought a family plan or applied for insurance from the town for the first time, said Miller.
The proposed operating budget survived the deliberative session unamended. That amount stands at $13.9 million. The two largest expenses in the gross budget are those for the police department and the highway department. Police’s budget is $1.8 million. Highway’s is $1.7 million.
Benji Rosen can be reached at 924-7172 ext. 228, or brosen@ledgertranscript.com. Follow him on Twitter @BenjiRosenMLT