The New Ipswich Select Board could finalize the town’s operating budget proposal next week, and the anticipated increase is about 10 percent over the current budget of $2.88 million.
During their most-recent meeting on Tuesday, Select Board members narrowed in on a final number, according to Chair Shawn Talbot, and they plan to finalize the budget during their Jan. 3 meeting.
“We will be going over it line by line, to make sure everything is good, and reaching out to department heads to get input about items that we’ve sharpened our pencils on, to double-check that eliminating it doesn’t put them in a bad spot,” Talbot said.
Talbot said the board is looking at about a 10 percent increase from the current year’s budget. While the board will be reviewing the budget and may make changes next week, Talbot said those changes are unlikely to be major, as most of this year’s budget drivers are fixed costs.
“The bulk of it is necessities that are out of our control, such as fuel and electricity,” Talbot said.
The board has agreed to a 7 percent cost-of-living increase for town employees in the coming year. That is about in line with the annual inflation rate of 7.1 percent, as calculated by the U.S. Labor Department, accounting for 12-month inflation as of the end of November.
“We’re trying to stay competitive,” Talbot said.
Talbot said the town’s Finance Advisory Committee and Select Board worked with department heads to develop budget requests on three tiers, with the first tier being “what’s needed to keep the lights on,” and secondary and tertiary tiers of priorities that weren’t required for the department’s operation.
Talbot said taking into account all three levels of requests would have constituted about a 20 percent increase. So far, Talbot said the board has agreed upon approving all first-tier expenditures, some second-tier requests and “very few” third-tier requests.
“We wanted to just make sure we approved what was necessary, but nothing that was going to be excessive,” Talbot said.
The board intends to finalize the budget Jan. 3, as well as a final review of warrant article requests. The budget, default budget and warrant are expected to be finalized by Jan. 10, and posted on the town’s website and available in the town office for review by the public. The town has scheduled a budget hearing on Jan. 17 at 7 p.m. in the town office meeting room.
Ashley Saari can be re ached at 603-924-7172 ext. 244 or asaari@ledgertranscript.com. She’s on Twitter @AshleySaariMTL.