Jaffrey’s Budget Committee has slashed another $32,799 from the town’s proposed operating budget in preparation for Town Meeting.
The town’s operating budget presently sits at $6,357,088, a $73,350 increase over last year’s approved budget. Despite the budget increase, Budget Committee chair Norm Langevin said during Saturday’s public budget hearing that he estimates a 5-cent reduction in the town’s portion of the tax rate.
“Anytime we go with a negative, it’s a positive,” said Langevin, of the estimated $11.14 tax rate.
The following areas and amounts were cut from the budget on Saturday: $10,000 from the town manager salary line item; $1,000 from the retirement line item out of the executive budget; $19,999 from the merit award line item in the personnel administration budget; and $3,000 from the bottom line of the recycling/transfer station budget.
The town manager salary and retirement lines were cut because incoming Town Manager Jon Frederick’s salary and benefits are coming in lower than previously budgeted for.
The merit award line item was cut in a 4-2 vote. Committee member Kevin Chamberlain recommended the cut, wanting the town to take a one year reprieve from the program to have Frederick analyze employee pay increases.
“Our employees are compensated fairly well,” said Chamberlain, citing the two-percent cost of living adjustment given to all employees in the proposed budget, excluding library staff, whose salaries are decided by the library trustees.
Chamberlain also motioned to have funds pulled from the recycling/transfer station budget, wanting to have retirement figures cut due to the lines being underspent last year.
Additionally, $1,200 was added to the patriotic purposes budget, for the purposes of purchasing flag replacements throughout town.
Nicholas Handy can be reached at 924-7172 ext. 235 or nhandy@ledgertranscript.com. He is also on Twitter @nhandyMLT.