Dublin’s Budget Committee does not support seven warrant articles on this year’s ballot.
Budget Committee chairman Charlie Champagne said during Wednesday’s budget hearing that the committee took a more analytic look at the warrant articles this year due to the town having to raise an additional $225,000 in taxation this past fall for road repairs caused by August’s flood damage.
“The Budget Committee didn’t see this as an essential item,” Champagne said, of an article that if passed would pull $7,000 from the town buildings maintenance capital reserve fund to replace the carpet in the police department. “I know it’s a small amount but because of the $225,000, we looked at every article with a critical eye.”
The committee has also not recommended two vehicle purchases: a $10,000 vehicle for the highway department and a $148,615 loader.
Neither purchase would have a tax impact as each would utilize capital reserve funds – the loader would additionally use $25,000 from the recycling fund and $10,000 in trade-in value – but Champagne argued that both vehicles were not immediate needs in town.
The request for a highway department vehicle comes to town meeting as the town’s new road agent does not have a personal vehicle that fits the needs of the department.
Select Board chairman Peter “Sturdy” Thomas, a selectmen’s representative on the budget committee, said the town paid mileage to the prior road agent when he used his own vehicle.
“We feel it is more appropriate for town employees to use town equipment,” Thomas said, who added the purchase would be for a used vehicle.
Champagne said the committee would prefer to have the town fix up the current loader – an estimated cost of around $15,000 – rather than replace it.
The committee also does not recommend articles to withdraw money from the from the library major maintenance and repair capital reserve fund: $15,000 to replace the library carpet and $2,500 to paint the function room and downstairs entrance of the library.
“It’s something we don’t think we need this year,” Champagne said.
The committee also didn’t recommend an article requesting $6,371 for agencies that provide advisory health and welfare services like The River Center and Southwestern Community Services and a petition article requesting $8,000 for the Dublin Community Center to fund 44 percent of the program coordinator’s salary.
“We don’t think tax dollars should support nonprofits,” Champagne said.
The proposed operating budget for 2019 is $2,001,959, a 3.61 percent or $69,734 increase over last year’s total.
Champagne said there was a 2.4 percent salary increase for all town employees.
“Most of the increase is due to salary and benefits,” Champagne said.
Article 9 on the ballot this year asks to raise $10,000 to complete a study and prepare plans for highway barn improvements.
Champagne said the discussion began with an $85,000 request for a break room at the highway barn, but it was determined more planning needed to be done to determine all needs for the facility before doing anything.
One article will replenish five capital reserve funds, placing $30,000 into heavy highway equipment, $15,000 into police cruisers, $130,000 into road construction, $15,000 into bridge repair/replacement, and $10,000 into town buildings maintenance.
The following articles will also be on the warrant in March:
■to take $37,500 from the police cruiser capital reserve fund to purchase and equip a new police cruiser
■to take $6,000 from the town buildings marinate capital reserve fund to paint the exterior of the police station
■to take $85,000 from the town buildings maintenance capital reserve fund to replace the town hall roof
■to take $84,710 from the fire equipment capital reserve fund to purchase 12 self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA)
■to take $16,700 from the town buildings maintenance capital reserve fund to purchase and install a new heating system at the Post Office
■to raise $3,500 to purchase a lawn and garden tractor to be used primarily by the cemetery
■to raise $4,000 to support the Dublin Advocate
■to raise $6,400 for the revaluation trust fund and $1,000 for the master plan trust fund
■to take $825 from the unassigned fund balance to add to the cemetery trust fund, money raised from sale of cemetery lots
■to discontinue the remediation expendable trust fund and transfer money in the account to the town’s general fund
■to increase the property tax exemption for solar energy systems to 100 percent of the assessed value of the equipment
■to rescind the recycling special revenue fund and place all current and future funds generated from the recycling center into the town’s general fund.