New Ipswich residents moved the town’s budget, with some significant increases for police pay, on to the warrant with no changes during the town’s Deliberative Session on Friday night.
New Ipswich is proposing a budget of $2.7 million, with a default budget of $2.5 million.
Among the increases in the budget is an $84,000 increase for the Police Department, intended in part to increase wages for existing officers and starting pay for future hires. The increases in pay are intended to be more in line with state averages, and incentivize officers to stay with the department, after several years of employees leaving for other positions or fields with more pay.
The town recently lost two officers that it had recruited and trained, Selectman David Lage said.
There were also increases in the town’s contribution to the state retirement fund and insurances.
There are several petition articles voters can weigh in on this year.
The most significant expense from a petition warrant article is a request for $148,500, which would be used to recompile and update the New Ipswich tax maps. Of that, $74,250 would be provided by the Conservation Fund, as already approved by the Conservation Commission, and $37,125 from the undesignated fund balance, with the remaining $37,125 from taxation.
The article would also establish an oversight committee to manage the project in concert with the Conservation Commission, Planning Board and Board of Assessors.
The project is supported by the Budget Advisory Committee, but not by a majority of the Select Board. Selectman David Lage said Friday that he could simply not justify the cost.
The town is also going to be making a decision regarding town property. A petition article asks to allow the town to discontinue a part of an old right-of-way adjacent to Route 124. The Select Board support this petition. During the Deliberative Session, voters agreed to amend the article to make the language more specific regarding the location of the property, but did not change its substance. It is related to another article put forth by the town, regarding the town’s property, the former location of the old highway garage, located at 497 Turnpike Road.
In a town-sponsored article, selectmen are requesting permission to sell the building and property.
Another petition article would have the own accept about a quarter of a mile of roadway, Valley Road, as a town road. Department of Public Works Director Peter Goewey told voters that because it is a short road, maintenance would only cost an additional few hundred dollars per snowstorm annually.
The town is continuing it’s typical annual request for a total of $600,000 for roadwork, split into two articles, one requesting $350,000 and the other $250,000. In a third article, voters can accept a $150,000 Block Grant from the state, money that is given back to the town based on taxes, for road construction.
All road repairs are prioritized by the town’s Road Committee, which consists of the Department of Public Works Director, two Planning Board members and two residents.
There are a total of $258,500 in capital reserve requests for town departments. The requests are made annually based on the department’s future needs, such as expensive equipment purchases, in order to spread out the tax impact over several years.
The town is only requesting to use funds from the property revaluation fund this year, using $20,550 of the $30,000 added to the fund to continue town revaluations. The town is on a five-year cycle for the total revaluation of each of the town’s properties.
Several articles request funding for services which are not owned or operated by the town, but which serve New Ipswich residents, including $40,000 for the New Ipswich Library, $98,066 for the Souhegan Valley Ambulance Service, $4,640 to participate in Keene’s Household Hazardous Waste program, and $9,550 for regional charities such as the St. Vincent de Paul Food Pantry, Meals on Wheels, The River Center, and other nonprofits.
New Ipswich Town Meeting is planned for Tuesday, March 9.
Ashley Saari can be reached at 924-7172 ext. 244 or asaari@ledgertrancript.com. She’s on Twitter @AshleySaariMLT.