Salaries were big budget drivers for departments such as ambulance, police and town hall, department representatives told the Budget Committee during its meeting Thursday.
Salaries make up the largest portion of the increase in the ambulance and the police department budgets this year.
In fact, the operating costs of the ambulance department are down by 5 percent if salaries are excluded, said Ambulance Chief Gary Zirpol. Salaries are up by about 10 percent, because of the town’s wage structure, and also some EMTs moving up to an intermediate care level.
The Town Hall budget increased significantly this year.
Salary and benefits for the newly hired Town Administrator Scott Butcher – whose salary was funded this year by a warrant article approving the creation of his position in March – and an increase in IT services ae behind the increase.
The budget for IT services includes about $13,000 to upgrade the municipal website, which would help to make it more mobile-friendly and let it be used by more residents to fill out and send in certain forms online, such as car registration.
An additional $20,000 in that line is for other IT upgrades, including a server that would let every member of every board, including volunteer ones, have a town-issued email address. There are some boards that are currently using personal emails for communications, which is problematic as those communications are considered a matter of public record and are subject to Freedom of Information Act requests.
The Conservation Commission budget is up this year, from $8,425 to $9,352. The commission would like to do some trail maintenance that it did not get to this year, and increase its outreach program, including re-holding a photo contest the commission sponsored this year. Budget Committee Vice-Chair Harry Dailey said that historically, the commission has underspent its budget significantly, and
Budgets proposed by department heads are subject to change by the budget committee.
Ashley Saari can be reached at 924-7172 ext. 244 or asaari@ledgertranscript.com. She’s on Twitter @AshleySaariMLT.