The town of Antrim has proposed an operating budget of $5,388,497 for 2026, including an increase of $50,692 or 1.1% over last year’s budget.
If all warrant articles are approved, Antrim taxes will increase by 6% and the tax rate will increase $1.34 per $1,000 evaluation over last year.
Town Administrator Scott Lester said at the budget hearing Monday night the biggest drivers in this year’s operating budget increase were changes in personnel and insurance costs.
Article 3 proposes the town take out a $1.2 million bond for street repairs.
“We’re hoping to be able to use the bond to get ahead on road maintenance. We’re trying to get back on a regular maintenance schedule after the storm damage that happened in the past several years,” Lester said. “Right now, we’re just playing catch up and we haven’t been able to keep on top of repairs along with scheduled maintenance.”
Select Board Chair Mike Ott said the town will seek to secure a bond that will be consistent with the costs for the previous police station construction bond, which expires this year.
“The goal is that this will flatline for the town,” Ott said. “The police station bond will end, and we will negotiate a new bond with similar terms.”
The article specifies the bond would be used for repairs on Buttercup Lane, Gibson Mountain Road, Inchcape Circle, Old Hancock Road, Goodell Road, and Post Road, as well as for full depth reclamation on Smith Road, High Street, Old Pound Road and West Street.
The bond also includes funds for sidewalk repair and drainage work on High Street.
Antrim experienced significant road damage during flooding in 2023 and 2025.
Article 7 proposes establishment of a Weather Emergency Capital Reserve fund to begin saving for unanticipated infrastructure repairs caused by weather.
In the public comment of the hearing, resident Gordon Allen asked what accounted for the increases in Capital Reserve Funds in 2026. Antrim’s proposed Capital Reserve Funds totals $550,000.
Select Board member Bob Edwards said the largest increase in capital reserves is for maintenance of public buildings.
“We’re trying to set aside money to phase in scheduled repairs, but really, $205,000 is just a drop in the bucket. We have things coming up like repointing all the bricks on the Town Hall,” he said.
Edwards also pointed to maintenance on Gregg Lake Dam as an unavoidable cost.
“We got a grant for $900,000 for the dam, and we need to repair the dam correctly. I know it seems like we work on the dam every year, but once that is done we should be good for another 70 years,” he said.
Ott said that because of the impact of infrastructure repairs that raised the budget last year, the town was now including formerly deferred items in the budget for 2026.
“We’re trying to do some of the things we couldn’t do last year, like hire a new full-time staff member at the library and get new turnout gear for the Fire Department,” Ott said. “We’re trying to get back to a proper level of expenditures.”
Edwards said the town is also saving for bridge repairs, including replacement of the Liberty Farm Road bridge, which was damaged in the 2023 floods.
“The Liberty Farm Road bridge is on the state’s list to be replaced in 2030, but the town would probably like to do more than the state. It’s an 80/20 split with the state as far as funding, so we may need to compromise. As we go into the design phase in 2026 or 2027, we’ll be thinking about that,” Edwards said.
Only Article 16 and Article 17 on the 2026 warrant were not supported unanimously by the Select Board, with Ott voting in favor of permitting Keno and games of chance in Antrim, respectively.